Twenty-seven outs.
That’s all that separates the Milwaukee Brewers from getting the early postseason exit monkey off their backs, from satisfyingly sending their fiercest rivals home, from keeping one of the most magical seasons in the franchise’s history alive.
And they’ve got three cracks to pull it off.
With a 7-3 Game 2 win in front of another raucous brigade at American Family Field on October 6, one that featured both the club’s patented resolve and a new, October wrinkle of power, the Brewers seized a 2-0 lead of the National League Division Series against the Chicago Cubs in the best-of-five series.
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For the second straight game, the Cubs swung first, grabbing a lead in the top of the first inning just to see the pesky Brewers immediately claw back.
The Brewers finished ahead of only eight other teams with 166 home runs this year and hit none in their 9-3 dismantling of the Cubs in Game 1 two days prior. Facing Chicago left-hander Shota Imanaga, they teed off.
Milwaukee slugged three homers, all with two outs, to account for all of its scoring. Two of those came off Imanaga, who struggled with the long ball late in the year, surrendering 16 across his last 10 starts.
Andrew Vaughn’s three-run blast drew the game even in the bottom of the first after another nightmarish postseason outing from Aaron Ashby, being used as an opener for the Brewers’ bullpen game.
William Contreras followed in the third with a solo shot to chase Imanaga, then Jackson Chourio delivered the knockout punch with another three-run smash.
From there, the Brewers ‘pen was lights-out. Nick Mears, Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick, Jared Koenig, Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe allowed only one hit over the final 7 ⅓ innings to send the Cubs into a deep hole as the series heads to Chicago for the next two – or, potentially, one – games.
Jackson Chourio does it again
The playoff superlatives keep coming for Chourio, who last year hit two game-tying home runs in the same contest, something only Babe Ruth had done before.
This time, on one hamstring, he turned a 101.4 mph pitch into a roof-exploding eruption.
With two on against Cubs right-hander Daniel Palencia, Chourio found himself in an 0-2 hole when he got a radar-popping four-seamer. It had plenty of zip going in and even more going out.
Chourio smashed his third career playoff homer, backspinning it 419 feet to dead center to turn a 4-3 collar-tugger into a much more comfortable four-run advantage.
At just 21 years old, Chourio is already just one homer off the franchise career postseason record, shared by Prince Fielder and Orlando Arcia.
There was serious doubt going into the evening that Chourio, who exited Game 1 with right hamstring tightness, would even be available. It was the same injury that sidelined Chourio for a month from late July into August, but the left fielder felt good while running at about 50 percent during the team’s workout during the off-day before Game 2.
That was more than enough health to convince manager Pat Murphy to jot his name down atop the batting order – and for the youngster to deliver a crushing blow.
Three-run homers exchanged in wild first
The Brewers’ decision to start Ashby as an opener backfired when the otherwise-reliable southpaw lost his command after retiring the first batter of the game.
Ashby left a two-strike changeup up to Nico Hoerner and the Cubs second baseman flicked it in front of Sal Frelick in right for a base hit. Kyle Tucker then walked, bringing Seiya Suzuki up. Ashby, struggling to find the zone with his sinker and changeup, still didn’t go to his best pitch, his curveball, against Suzuki and it caught up to him as the Cubs right fielder smacked a 441-foot homer on a changeup at the letters.
The Brewers weren’t trailing by three for long, however. Contreras and Christian Yelich, who finished with three hits, exchanged two-out singles against Imanaga, who then engaged Andrew Vaughn in a lengthy at-bat that reached a full count. Imanaga went back to a sweeper inside, a pitch Vaughn swung over earlier in the battle. He didn’t miss it this time.
The Brewers first baseman lofted it high into the domed sky. The crowd of 42,787 turned from a roar to a deafening silence as it anxiously watched left fielder Ian Happ slowly creep toward the fence.
Happ watched it sail.
Vaughn’s first home run since Aug. 15 – and also, somehow, the Brewers’ first ever three-run shot in the postseason – came crashing down two rows deep into the second-deck bleachers to knot the score.
William Contreras gives the Brewers the lead
Contreras has a World Series ring to his name but had yet to hit a postseason home run in 36 at-bats in his career as he came to bat for a second time on the night in the third.
He made sure to enjoy his first.
The Brewers catcher turned on a 90.7 mph fastball on the inside corner from Imanaga and smoked it 107.6 mph on a rope to left, standing and staring from the batter’s box as it whistled its way to giving Milwaukee its first lead of the game.
It was Contreras’ fourth hit of the series already in just seven at-bats, a quite encouraging sign for the Brewers’ long-term October aspirations considering he spent most of the team’s bye week before the NLDS trying to heal up the bruise on his right hand from a swing he took to the glove in late September.
Don’t overlook what the rookies did in the middle innings
No team in the National League got more from its rookies this year in terms of Wins Above Replacement than the Brewers, so it was only fitting that a pair of fireballing righties came out of the bullpen to be the stories of the contest’s middle innings.
First, it was Misiorowski, who remained in the full confidence of the coaching staff and front office despite a shaky final six weeks of the year as a starter. The Brewers not only kept him on the playoff roster but entrusted him with a tie game in the top of the third inning, a move that likely had many in the capacity crowd jostling in their seats – until Misiorowski threw his first pitch, that is.
Misiorowski unleashed a 103.4 mph fastball, the fastest pitch of his career, for a called strike to Kyle Tucker as the first one out of his hand. Later in the at-bat, which ended with Tucker grounding to third, Misiorowski hit 104.3, the second-fastest playoff pitch in the pitch tracking era (since 2008).
On a Carson Kelly chopper back to the mound for the final out of the third, Misiorowski took it to the base himself before erupting in a euphoric celebration with both arms extended, a show of raw emotion that fueled him onward to three shutout innings and, ultimately, the win in his first career playoff appearance.
Fellow rookie Chad Patrick took the baton from Misiorowski for the sixth and shoved, striking out the first two batters he saw in a clean inning and touching 97.5 mph on the radar.
From there, it was easy for Murphy to stick with the script, going from Koenig to Megill to Uribe to slam the door.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers take 2-0 NLDS lead over Cubs thanks to homers, Misiorowski
