To most loyal members of the True Blue Brew Crew, the Milwaukee Brewers‘ 2026 season has the feel of a magical year of destiny.
Thanks to the heroics of Jackson Chourio, the Brewers are one win away from moving past the San Diego Padres and on to the National League Championship Series. Chourio’s two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the ninth in Game Two of the NLDS on Sunday gave the Brewers a thrilling 4-3 win and a 2-0 edge in the series.
The Brewers prevailed in Game One, 3-2, thanks to a tie-breaking solo home run by William Contreras in the seventh inning, and stellar relief pitching sealed the deal afterwards.
Milwaukee needs to prevail in one of the next three possible games, two of which are on the road in California. Before enjoying that two-game cushion, the 22-year-old Chourio gave fans all across Wisconsin an at-bat to remember.
Entering the ninth inning on Sunday, the Brewers found themselves in a precarious spot. They trailed 3-2, and the most feared closer in the game, Mason Miller, just gutted Milwaukee by setting the Brewers’ hitters down in order in the eighth.
Garrett Mitchell began the home half of the ninth by grounding out. At that point, the Padres’ win probability was 87.2%. From there, the Brewers manufactured base runners like they had all season.
Christian Yelich and Sal Frelick both walked to put two on with one out. Pinch-hitter Andrew Vaughn flew out to center, and Gary Sanchez was summoned to the plate in place of David Hamilton.
In one of the most underrated moments of the game, Sanchez drew a walk, Miller’s third of the inning, to load the bases. That set the stage for Chourio’s dramatics.
Miller challenged Chourio with three straight fastballs, all of which reached 100 mph or higher, to make the count one ball, two strikes. On his fourth offering, Miller ramped up a 103 mph fastball, and Chourio stayed alive by fouling it off.
With the count still 1-2, Miller threw a slider that missed the bottom of the strike zone to even the count. On pitch number six, Chourio barrelled Miller’s 101 mph four-seamer just past the outstretched glove of second baseman Jake Cronenworth and into center field. Yelich scored easily, and Frelick beat Jackson Merrill’s throw to the plate, setting off a massive celebration.
After the game, Chourio showed the fighting spirit of this year’s Milwaukee Brewers.
“We’re a team that never backs down,” he said. “We’re never going to back down from a challenge, and we like these moments. We’re going to keep going, and we’re going to battle for every opportunity that we get.”
Chourio’s teammates knew he was ready for the moment.
“You really don’t know what to say about it,” said Brewers veteran pitcher Brandon Woodruff. “Seriously, you’re running out of words. I guess he could have hit a homer there and that would have made it better. But that was pretty cool right there.”
“I felt like I could see it in his eyes, like the dial turned a little bit,” Mitchell commented. “His swings were getting just a little more aggressive.”
Manager Pat Murphy concisely summed up the sentiment felt by all of Brewer Nation.
“That was fun, wasn’t it?”
For baseball fans in Wisconsin who are starving for October glory, it certainly was.
If anything is definite in baseball, it is that nothing is definite.
Yes, the Milwaukee Brewers are currently in a coveted position, but they know their task is incomplete. Petco Park in San Diego will be rocking for the home team, and the Brewers must be ready for that energy.
Tuesday’s starter for Milwaukee, Dustin May, has playoff experience. He owns a 1-0 record with a 3.86 ERA in nine playoff appearances with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Brewers hope he draws on that familiarity with postseason play to draw Milwaukee closer to ending their franchise-long championship drought.
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