Jackson Chourio walks off Mason Miller, Padres down 2-0
TLDR: Jackson Chourio hit a 2-out, 2-strike walk-off single off Mason Miller in NLDS Game 2, and the Brewers' 4-3 win sends the Padres back to San Diego down 2-0.
San Diego went into the 8th with a lead and its best arm. Craig Stammen gave the ball to Mason Miller and asked him for 6 outs.
Mason Miller is on for a 6-out save
The first 3 went fine. Miller had a 1-2-3 8th and it looked like the Padres would head home with the series even. Then the 9th fell apart. Christian Yelich walked and stole second. Sal Frelick walked. Andrew Vaughn came up as a pinch hitter, and with 2 outs Gary Sanchez pinch-hit for David Hamilton and walked too.
Sanchez walks and the bases are loaded for Jackson Chourio
So it came down to 2 outs, bases loaded, down a run, against the closer most people would call the best in baseball. Chourio fell behind, got to 2 strikes, shortened up and sent a fastball through the middle of the infield. Yelich and Frelick both scored, and the sellout crowd in Milwaukee lost its mind.
JACKSON CHOURIO ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? A WALKOFF VS MASON MILLER AND THE BREWERS ARE ONE GAME AWAY FROM THE NLCS
It's the 3rd walk-off postseason win in Brewers history, after Nyjer Morgan in 2011 and Mike Moustakas in 2018. Nyjer threw out the first pitch Sunday, which is perfect. Afterwards the clubhouse sounded like it was talking about a 30-year veteran and not a kid. Yelich said there's "nothing he can't do on a baseball field," and Chourio called it one of the top 3 moments of his career.
Christian Yelich on Jackson Chourio: “There’s nothing he can’t do on a baseball field.”
Miller didn't make any excuses. He didn't blame the 101 mph heater that went back out at 110 off Chourio's bat. He blamed the 3 walks before it, and he summed up the loss in one quote.
Mason Miller: "The cardinal rule is you don’t beat yourself. I beat myself today. A base hit with nobody on doesn’t win them the game. A base hit after you walked the bases loaded does."
By Monday everyone was second-guessing the manager. The bullpen had decided Game 1 too, so San Diego has now lost 2 one-run games in the late innings. Stammen gave some answers that afternoon. He said Adrian Morejon wasn't available, which is why Miller was out there for 6 outs, and that pitching more than 1 inning probably caused Miller's command problems. Asked about tipping, he played it down but didn't completely rule it out.
That tipping theory is real enough that it's gotten its own breakdown of the 9th inning. If Milwaukee was reading Miller's pitches, the walks make a lot more sense. Credit to them for using it.
Evidence Shows Mason Miller Might Have Been Tipping Pitches In The 9th Inning Yesterday, And Rightfully So The Brewers Took Advantage To Win The Game @BarstoolHubbs
Meanwhile the Padres are getting buried, David Ortiz included. When Manny Machado was asked about Ortiz's comments, he went straight to the us-against-the-world speech.
Manny Machado was asked about David Ortiz's comments... "Those aren't the first comments that we've heard about us this year. It's been all year from everyone. Here we are once again with our backs against the wall. We overcame it once, and we're going to do it again."
It's a best-of-5, so San Diego has to win 3 straight, starting with 2 at Petco. That's very hard, but it isn't impossible. Machado says they've been here before. The Brewers have the series lead, a crowd that believes, and a 22-year-old who keeps coming through in October. Game 3 is the Padres' last chance, and they won't have much room for mistakes from the bullpen.
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