Jesse RogersOct 7, 2025, 12:41 AM ET
- Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com.
MILWAUKEE — One Brewer lit up the radar gun from the mound, while another hit the fastest pitch for a postseason home run in the pitch tracking era, as 23-year-old right-hander Jacob Misiorowski and 21-year-old outfielder Jackson Chourio put on a show Monday night while helping Milwaukee to a 2-0 lead over the Chicago Cubs in the National League Division Series.
Chourio blasted a fastball clocked at 101.4 mph from Cubs reliver Daniel Palencia for a three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning, turning a one-run advantage into a comfortable 7-3 lead that held for the final score.
“He’s a star,” Brewers catcher William Contreras said of Chourio. “For me, I think he’s the best player that we have here.”
Chourio left Game 1 on Saturday after injuring his right hamstring legging out an infield hit, but he showed no ill effects in Game 2. He’s the youngest player in MLB history with three home runs in his first five career postseason games.
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“I’ve been feeling good,” Chourio said through an interpreter. “My mission from the beginning was to go out there and give whatever my team needed. … I’m just looking for a good pitch to hit to bring home the runner from second. I was able to find one and push across three there.”
The long ball was one theme for the Brewers in Game 2. They hit three home runs, including an earlier three-run shot by first baseman Andrew Vaughn in the bottom of the first inning.
“Two three-run homers [in a] playoff game, any game, tough to overcome,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.
Misiorowski kept the Cubs off the board during the middle innings after right fielder Seiya Suzuki gave Chicago a short-lived 3-0 lead in the top of the first.
The flamethrowing rookie pitched innings three to five, throwing his first eight career postseason pitches at 102 mph or faster. The final out in the third was a comebacker to Misiorowski, which he took to first base himself. After stepping on the bag, he screamed in demonstrative excitement to the delight of the home crowd.
“I think I was so fired up, adrenaline pumping, didn’t really know where my feet were, but we landed, so it was fun,” Misiorowski said.
Said Brewers manager Pat Murphy: “He was one of the keys to the game, and there was a lot of them. This game was in a lot of different parts, but Miz stepped up. You guys get all enthralled with mph. I’m enthralled that he wasn’t giving up free bases, kept his composure with runners on and that type of thing.”
Misiorowski struck out four in three innings — part of a postseason theme for the visiting Cubs who have struck out 58 times in five playoff games, including 11 times Monday. Misiorowski gave up a hit and two walks, but the Cubs couldn’t square him up.
Jackson Chourio, 21, left Game 1 on Saturday after injuring his right hamstring, but showed no ill effects in Game 2 as he became the youngest player in MLB history with three home runs in his first five career postseason games. Benny Sieu/Imagn Images
“It’s definitely hard whenever you have a young pitcher,” Contreras said of Misiorowski. “It’s hard to do, but especially when he has that enthusiasm for the game and enthusiasm to go out there and pitch. The most that I can, just trying to talk to him about staying focused, stay between the lines and staying pitch to pitch there and to continue competing.”
The win has the Brewers on the cusp of the NL Championship Series for the first time since 2018, when Counsell was their manager. Counsell was also with Milwaukee as Chourio and Misiorowski were working their way through the system.
“Both very talented players, and yeah, I think you expected them to be big leaguers, absolutely,” Counsell said.
Milwaukee will hand the ball to righty Quinn Priester when the five-game series moves to Wrigley Field for Game 3 on Wednesday, while the Cubs will counter with veteran Jameson Taillon, who has been their best pitcher of late.
It’s likely Misiorowski will get the day off after wowing with his fastball in Game 2.
“When he was warming up, I was talking to our infielders and I go, ‘He’s going to throw 104 right here,’ and he did,” Vaughn said. “I definitely took a peek up at the big board.”
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