Jackson Chourio Walks off Mason Miller, Padres in Dramatic Finish to NLDS Game 2

Jackson Chourio hit a walk-off, two-run single in the bottom of the ninth inning off Mason Miller to give the Brewers a 2–0 NLDS lead over the Padres. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Padres suffered their second gut-punch of a loss in as many days on Sunday, surrendering a walk-off single to Jackson Chourio in the bottom of the ninth inning to go down 2–0 in the NLDS.

It was about as dramatic a moment as possible. With MLB’s best closer on the mound in Mason Miller, who was tasked with recording a six-out save for San Diego, Chourio stepped into the batter’s box with the bases loaded and two outs in the inning. It’s a scenario most kids dream about, but very few ever get to experience first hand. After working himself into a 2–2 count, not offering at a very tempting slider below the zone, Chourio shortened his swing and connected on a 101-mph fastball, which he laced on the ground through the infield. Sal Frelick came around to score from second base, and the Brewers secured their second win of the series.

The dream scenario of every kid. Bottom of the ninth. Two outs. Bases loaded. Facing the toughest pitcher in the world to hit.

Jackson Chourio made magic. pic.twitter.com/BoynNkZrRO

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 4, 2026

Miller had worked himself into a bit of a jam in the ninth inning as he attempted to shut the door on the Brewers. After inducing a groundout from Garrett Mitchell to start the inning, Miller’s control got away from him and he surrendered three consecutive walks to Christian Yelich, Frelick and Gary Sanchez.

There’s no one the Padres would’ve rather had on the mound than their superstar closer. Even after throwing more than 35 pitches, Miller was still lighting up the radar gun with triple-digit fastballs, and he threw four straight to Chourio in hopes of sitting him down. Chourio fought them off, fouling one back on a 1–2 count before showing patience beyond his years by taking the slider to stay alive. He was ready for the next fastball and didn’t try to do too much with it. Rather than swing for the fences, he did what Milwaukee’s lineup has done all year; made solid contact. He laced the pitch right back where it came from, and it leaked through the infield and into center field, bringing home two runners and giving the Brew Crew a 2–0 advantage in what’s been a highly entertaining NLDS.

It was Chourio’s second walk-off hit of his career, and the first time he’s ever delivered those kinds of heroics in a postseason setting. Miller, who has been the league’s most highly regarded reliever all season long, couldn’t get the job done as the Padres tried to lean on him for the six most important outs of the season.

Now, the Brewers will prepare to attempt to close out the series on the road in San Diego. Teams that win the first two games of a division series have gone on to win 83 of 93 of those series, or 89% of the time, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs. The Padres won’t go down without a fight, but Chourio’s clutch heroics put Milwaukee in an extremely favorable spot heading into Game 3 on Tuesday.

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