MILWAUKEE (AP) — Andrew Vaughn and Jackson Chourio each hit a three-run homer, William Contreras added a solo shot and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 7-3 on Monday night to move one win from a trip to the National League Championship Series.
The Brewers have a 2-0 advantage in the best-of-five Division Series, which shifts to Wrigley Field in Chicago for Game 3 on Wednesday. Teams taking a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five postseason series have won 80 of 90 times, including 54 sweeps.
Milwaukee is attempting to win a postseason series for the first time since 2018, when it reached Game 7 of the NLCS.
“We’ve just got a good collection of guys that are happy they’re in the big leagues,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “I call them cliffhangers — guys that don’t know if their locker is going to be there when they get back to the deal. That’s a fun thing. That hunger makes us look like we know what we’re doing. It’s pretty cool.”
Vaughn and Chourio hit the first two three-run homers in Brewers postseason history. Contreras' solo shot in the third inning broke a 3-all tie.
Chicago slugger Seiya Suzuki hit a three-run homer of his own — a 440-foot shot to left-center in the first inning against Aaron Ashby. After coming out of the bullpen in 42 of his 43 regular-season appearances, Ashby served as an opener in this one.
But the Cubs didn't score again. Nick Mears, Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick, Jared Koenig, Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe combined for 7 1/3 innings of shutout relief in which they allowed just one hit.
“We’ve got to find a way to just create more pressure, and that’s baserunners, hits, walks," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “We’ve got to have more pressure and make innings and kind of pitching decisions much tougher on the other side.”
Misiorowski came on in the third and threw three scoreless innings to earn the win while hitting at least 100 mph on 31 of his 57 pitches. Each of the rookie's first eight pitches went at least 102.6 mph, and he topped out at 104.3.
“I think I was so fired up, adrenaline pumping, you know, didn’t really know where my feet were,” Misiorowski said. “But we landed, so it was fun. It was a lot of fun.”
While Misiorowski was sizzling, Chicago’s Shota Imanaga was fizzling.
Twice in the first three innings, Imanaga retired the first two batters before running into trouble that resulted in a homer. Imanaga has allowed multiple homers in six of his last eight appearances.
Vaughn tied the game in the bottom of the first with a drive over the left-field wall after Contreras and Christian Yelich delivered two-out singles. According to MLB, this was the first playoff game in which each team hit a three-run homer in the first inning.
“I think it just brought the energy back into the dugout, and that’s what Vaughn has been doing ever since he’s got here,” Contreras said through an interpreter. “He’s been able to put big swings on balls and continue producing for us like he has. I think it was one of the big keys to us winning the game there.”
Contreras then hit a 411-foot shot to left with two outs in the third.
Vaughn’s first-inning drive marked the first time the Brewers had ever hit a three-run homer or a grand slam in the postseason. They got their second just three innings later, when Chourio connected on his 419-foot shot off Daniel Palencia.
“You’re not going to win playoff games giving up two three-run homers,” Counsell said. “That was just too much to overcome.”
Chourio was back in the leadoff spot after tightness in his right hamstring caused him to leave in the second inning of Milwaukee’s 9-3 Game 1 victory on Saturday. Chourio went 3 for 3 with three RBIs in the opener before his exit, making him the first player to have three hits in the first two innings of a postseason game.
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