NLDS: Chourio, Brewers Walk Padres Off

Sal Frelick of the Brewers diving in with the winning run of Game 2 of the 2026 NLDS against the Padres

Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images

October 4, 2026

Brewers 4, Padres 3 — NLDS Game Two

A two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the ninth by Jackson Chourio off elite closer Mason Miller gave the Milwaukee Brewers a dramatic 4–3 walk-off win over the San Diego Padres in Game Two of the NL Division Series Sunday afternoon.

“One of my favorite games I’ve been a part of,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said afterwards. “And what’s most gratifying is to see how many of our great fans came out to see that one and got to enjoy it themselves. Just happy for the club, happy for the city, that they got to witness something so special.”

The single salvaged an error-filled game, one that saw the defensively sound Brewers make three errors and yield two unearned runs. No Brewer had more than one hit, and the team only had five overall — but all except one either drove in a run or saw said hitter later score.

Brewers – Padres Game Summary

The Padres took a 1–0 lead in the top of the first off Brewers starter Logan Henderson. A two-out walk by Manny Machado brought up Ty France. When Machado advanced on a wild pitch, it set France up with a good chance for an RBI, and he delivered a single to score Machado.

An unearned run gave the Padres a 2–0 lead in the top of the fifth. Luis Campusano led off with a single. Two batters later, Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a grounder up the middle that had a chance to turn into a side-retiring double play. However, Brice Turang — the normally surehanded Brewers second baseman — pulled up too early, and the ball squirted through. With runners on the corners and one out, the speedy Dustin Harris hit a grounder to Turang. Turang fired to second in time to force Tatis, but Cooper Pratt’s relay to first went low and wide. It skipped out of play, scoring Campusano and putting Harris on second.

The Brewers got that run back in the bottom of that inning. Christian Yelich smashed a two-out double to the right-field corner and scored on a Sal Frelick single.

Another unearned run, this time off reliever Juan Uribe, gave the Padres a 3–1 lead in the top of the seventh. Tatis reached on a one-out error by third baseman David Hamilton. A two-out walk by Machado put runners on first and second for France, whose single to right scored Tatis. Machado tried to go first-to-third on the play, but a great throw by right fielder Sal Frelick nabbed him for the third out.

The Comeback

The error bug also struck the Padres in the seventh. With runners on the corners and two outs, Hamilton hit a slow bouncer towards second. Jake Cronenworth — another normally sure-handed fielder — charged, bobbled the ball, and fired. It sailed wide of first and into the Brewers’ dugout, scoring Mitchell to cut the Padres lead to 3–2.

Aaron Ashby held the Padres scoreless in the top of the eighth. Padres closer Mason Miller returned the favor to the Brewers in the bottom half. In the top of the ninth, Brewers closer Trevor Megill sat the Padres down in order, keeping the score at 3–2 heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Miller returned to the mound in the ninth, attempting to finish a six-out save. Back-to-back one-out walks to Yelich and Frelick put two on for pinch-hitter Andrew Vaughn, who flied to center for the second out. Veteran Gary Sanchez, pinch-hitting for Hamilton, ran the count full before drawing the third walk of the inning. This loaded the bases for Chourio, who drilled a 2–2 fastball up the middle past a diving Cronenworth for a single. Yelich crossed the plate as Frelick rounded third. The throw home from center fielder Jackson Merrill was slightly wide toward the first-base side and too late to nab the diving Frelick, giving the Brewers the win and a 2–0 series lead.

What Went Right for the Brewers

Starting Pitching

Rookie Logan Henderson, making his postseason debut, lasted five innings plus the first batter of the sixth. The right-hander allowed two runs — one earned — on two hits, walking three and striking out four.

Relief Pitching

JoJo Romero, Juan Uribe, Aaron Ashby, and Trevor Megill combined to pitch four relief innings, allowing one unearned run on three hits. The quartet walked two and struck out three.

Never Stopped Fighting

Yes, it sounds cliché, but it applies here. The Brewers faced two separate two-run deficits, a 2–0 hole in the fifth and a 3–1 gap in the seventh.

Yelich and Frelick

Christian Yelich went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two runs scored. Sal Frelick went 1-for-2 with two walks, an RBI, and a run scored. Both were on base for the Chourio walk-off, with Yelich scoring the tying run and Frelick scoring the winning run. Additionally, Frelick made the great throw that nailed Machado at third to end the top of the seventh.

What Went Wrong for the Brewers

Defensive Miscues

It felt strange writing this heading for such a sound defensive team, but the Brewers uncharacteristically made three errors Sunday. They resulted in two unearned runs.

What Went Right for the Padres

Starting Pitching

Like his counterpart, Michael King lasted five innings plus one batter. He pitched a perfect 4 2/3 innings before surrendering three hits in a row. Ultimately, he allowed one earned run on three hits, walking none and striking out six.

Ty France

France, whose Game One ninth-inning fly ball struck a roof cable and will be talked about for years to come, went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one hit-by-pitch.

Capitalized on Errors

As mentioned before, the Brewers uncharacteristically made three errors. The Padres turned those into two unearned runs, one shy of the total they scored in the game.

What Went Wrong for the Padres

Costly Error in Seventh

The Cronenworth throwing error narrowed the Padres lead from two runs to one.

Ran Selves Out of Inning

The two-out single in the seventh by France extended the Padres lead to 3–1, but the inning could have done more damage. When Machado was thrown out trying to go first-to-third, it bailed the Brewers out. Had Machado held at second, it would have brought up Merrill with runners on first and second and two outs. Obviously, there is no way to know what would have happened, but regardless, it was a self-inflicted wound.

Couldn’t Finish the Job

This needs little explanation. It was the reason the series is now 2–0 in favor of the Brewers instead of being tied, 1–1.

Lack of Shutdown Innings after Scoring

The Padres scored a run in the first, the fifth, and the seventh. Only once — after the run in the first — did the Padres hold the Brewers scoreless in the ensuing half-inning. This prevented the Padres from doing anything resembling “putting them away.”

Quotes

“A credit to the guys. We’ve been doing it all year, being tough and finding ways to get the job done. Nobody cares who it is, who gets it done. In those situations, you know what you’ve got to do.” — Brewers designated hitter Christian Yelich on the comeback win

“The guy on the mound was throwing hard, and the guy at the plate hits the ball hard. I had a good feeling that on a hit it was probably going to be a close play at the plate. Again, this is the stuff we take pride in. This is the stuff that we practice every day in spring training — cutting the corner at third base and not getting too wide and how much time you lose. It’s the attention to detail that is instilled in our culture, stuff that I learned from this guy when I first got called up, like, if you’re not doing it you don’t play.” — Brewers right fielder Sal Frelick on the narrow turn he made at third en route to scoring the winning run

Quick Hits

Coincidentally, both starting pitchers lasted into the sixth and were pulled after hitting the first batter of the inning.

According to OptaSTATS, Chourio became the second player in major league history to deliver a postseason walk-off hit with his team trailing and off a pitcher who led his league in saved during that regular season. This is since saves became official in 1969. The other player to do so? Kirk Gibson off Dennis Eckersley in Game One of the 1988 World Series. The injured Gibson gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5–4 win over the then-Oakland Athletics after one of the most famous home runs in World Series history.

Looking Ahead

Megill earned the win in relief, with Miller taking the dreaded double-whammy of a blown save-loss.

The Brewers and Padres will head to San Diego for Game Three and, if necessary, Game Four. With Monday off as a travel day, Game Three will be Tuesday night at Petco Park. Dustin May (7–9, 4.70 ERA in regular season) will take the mound for the Brewers against Nick Pivetta (3–2, 2.86 ERA) of the Padres in a battle of right-handers. First pitch will be at 6:30 pm Pacific/8:30 pm Central.