Brewers take 2-0 NLDS lead over Padres
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MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Jackson Chourio hit a two-run single off hard-throwing Mason Miller with two outs in the ninth inning and the Milwaukee Brewers rallied past the San Diego Padres for the second time in 20 hours, a 4-3 victory Sunday for a 2-0 NL Division Series lead.
Miller entered with a 3-2 lead, trying for his first six-out save since 2024. He retired the side in order in the eighth and, after a leadoff groundout in the ninth, issued his first career postseason walks to Christian Yelich and Sal Frelick.
Andrew Vaughn flied out and pinch hitter Gary Sánchez walked on a full count.
Chourio lined a 101.3 mph fastball up the middle, past second baseman Jake Cronenworth’s attempt for a diving backhand stop, and into center field as two runs scored.
Milwaukee’s Dustin May will start Game 3 on Tuesday at San Diego despite struggling after he was acquired from St. Louis at the trade deadline.
San Diego plans to start Nick Pivetta in a matchup of right-handers.
May finished 7-9 with a 4.70 ERA, going 2-2 with a 5.65 ERA over 10 starts with Milwaukee after compiling a 5-7 record with a 4.38 ERA in 21 starts with St. Louis. In his last three appearances of the regular season, May allowed seven runs and three homers over 7 1/3 innings.
May was 1-1 with a 1.23 ERA in three starts against San Diego this year while striking out 22 over 22 innings. In his one start against the Padres after the trade, May allowed one run over seven innings and got no decision in a 4-3, 11-inning loss on Aug. 12.
"He's pitched fantastic against the Padres," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "He's got experience and we brought him in to do that."
Milwaukee acquired May along with left-handed reliever JoJo Romero in a trade that sent minor league outfielders Alexander Frias and Josiah Ragdale to the Cardinals.
Pivetta (3-2, 2.86) spent much of this season on the injured list with an elbow issue that arose in April. He returned had a 1.45 ERA in four September appearances, then allowed one run over 3 1/3 innings in San Diego's 4-1 Game 2 Wild Card Series victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.
"He's been able to handle the moment, and we like his stuff," Padres manager Craig Stammen said. "He's been a good pitcher for a lot of his career and especially here with the Padres."
Pivetta is 2-2 with a 2.86 ERA in five career playoff appearances, including three starts. May pitched on the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2020 World Series championship team and has gone 3-1 with a 3.86 ERA in three postseason starts and six relief appearances.
ROOF OPEN
A day after a ball hit by San Diego's Ty France struck the roof, Major League Baseball had the roof open on for Game 2 Sunday on a sunny afternoon with a game-time temperature of 68 degrees.
In the ninth inning of the Brewers’ 3-2 win Saturday night, France hit a ninth-inning drive that seemed as though it might be headed over the left-field wall until it struck a cable on the roof of the stadium and then fell into the glove of Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio on the warning track to retire the hitter.
"Eleven years here, I've never had a ricochet ball," said Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy, who joined the Brewers’ staff as a bench coach in 2016. "I have never even seen anybody hit, like batting practice, anything. Pretty incredible."
The game-changing play came with Dustin Harris on first base following a leadoff single. France's drive left his bat at 105.3 mph with a 49-degree launch angle, and it was caught 325 feet from home plate.
Megill was asked after the game what he thought once France connected.
"Oh, crap," Megill said. "I'll keep it PG for you."
There has never been a home run at American Family Field with a launch angle greater than 46 degrees since Statcast tracking started in 2015. And there have only been 10 homers hit over the fence at any major league ballpark during that period with a launch angle of 49 degrees or higher.
The roof had played a role in a Brewers playoff game before Murphy's arrival in Milwaukee. Brewers infielder Craig Counsell caught a high pop fly from Philadelphia's Jayson Werth that hit the roof during the 2008 NL Division Series.
Under the stadium's ground rules, any batted ball striking the roof or one of its cables in fair territory is a fair ball that can be caught for an out. The Padres unsuccessfully challenged that France's drive was a foul ball.