Chourio Walks Off Mason Miller as Brewers Take 2-0 NLDS Lead

Jackson Chourio lined a two-out, two-run single off Padres closer Mason Miller in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday, lifting the Milwaukee Brewers to a 4–3 walk-off win over San Diego in Game 2 of the National League Division Series and a 2–0 series lead, ESPN and The Associated Press reported from American Family Field.

Miller entered with a 3–2 lead, trying for his first six-out save since 2024, and retired the side in order in the eighth, according to the AP. After a leadoff groundout in the ninth, the two-time All-Star issued his first career postseason walks to Christian Yelich and Sal Frelick. Andrew Vaughn flied out, and pinch hitter Gary Sánchez then took six straight pitches for a walk that loaded the bases. On a 2–2 count, Chourio turned around a 101.3 mph four-seam fastball, sending a 109.5 mph line drive up the middle just past the diving glove of second baseman Jake Cronenworth, ESPN reported. Yelich scored, and Frelick slid in headfirst ahead of Jackson Merrill’s throw.

The finish capped a ragged game that featured five errors and three unearned runs, ESPN noted. Padres starter Michael King retired the first 14 batters he faced as San Diego built a 2–0 lead, and Ty France drove in runs with singles in the first and seventh innings, the second after an error by third baseman David Hamilton, per the AP. Frelick answered with an RBI single in the fifth after a Yelich double, and Milwaukee pulled within 3–2 in the seventh when Garrett Mitchell scored on a double error by Cronenworth.

Miller threw a season-high 40 pitches, his most since 2023, and topped 100 mph 18 times, the AP said, including a 103.5 mph fastball that Chourio fouled off. “I didn’t do my job today,” Miller said afterward, adding that instead of leaving with a win and a tied series, the Padres were “in a hole.” Padres manager Craig Stammen told ESPN the club had planned on Miller for six outs and that the closer “was just battling the strike zone there at the end.”

For Chourio, the hit added to a fast-growing October résumé. At 22 years and 207 days, he became the second-youngest player with a postseason walk-off hit, behind Edgar Rentería in 1997, according to the AP. ESPN noted he is only the third Brewer with a game-ending postseason hit, joining Mike Moustakas (2018) and Nyjer Morgan (2011). The AP lists him with a .327 average, a franchise-record five homers, and 15 RBIs across 14 career postseason games. Yelich summed it up: “He loves those moments.”

San Diego, which entered the postseason with 20 wins in its last 23 games, now heads home facing elimination after its first back-to-back losses since Sept. 1–2. Monday is a travel day, and Game 3 of the best-of-five series is set for Tuesday in San Diego. Milwaukee, which won a franchise-record 103 regular-season games according to ESPN, is one win from a second straight NL Championship Series. Follow more postseason coverage on our Sports page.

Verification: Game details, pitch data, and quotes in this report are drawn from ESPN’s Game 2 story by Bradford Doolittle and the Associated Press game report, both published Oct. 4, 2026, which agree on the final score and the ninth-inning sequence.