Clutch Homers and Shutdown Relief Help Brewers Cruise Past Cubs in Game 2 Victory

Pat Murphy's first move of the night backfired badly. After just four batters in the top of the first inning, the Chicago Cubs had three runs on the scoreboard, courtesy of Seiya Suzuki’s three-run blast to deep left field against lefty Aaron Ashby. The visitors' jubilation wouldn't last long, though. Not to be left out, the Brewers tied the game on Andrew Vaughn’s three-run homer in the bottom half of the inning—and would go on to add a pair of circuit clouts and use a very proficient bullpen outing to grab a 7-3 win in Game 2 of the NLDS match-up, sweeping both games in Milwaukee.

Two Outs? No Problem.
The Brewers got two-out singles by William Contreras and Christian Yelich in the first, before Vaughn slammed a homer to left field. In the third inning, ‘Wild Bill’ smashed a solo shot to left, taking a few seconds to admire his handiwork before starting his trot. One inning later, the Brewers put the game away, when Jackson Chourio crushed a ball off the hitter's background in center field with two outs, scoring Caleb Durbin and Joey Ortiz to run up the final tallies in the contest. Overall, the Brewers were 9-for-18 with two outs, impressive in any league.

The Miz Leads the Bullpen
Considering that he was doubtful to make the postseason roster, Jacob Misiorowski went above and beyond in his first playoff action, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out four in three innings; he garnered the win. Nick Mears, Chad Patrick, Jared Koenig, and Trevor Megill allowed no baserunners in 3 1/3 combined innings, while whiffing three Cubs. Abner Uribe continued his dominance by striking out the side in the ninth.

Who’s Got The Best Defense?
The Brewers had three web gems in the game, while the vaunted Chicago defense committed another error. With a runner on first and one out in the top of the fifth, Suzuki hit a fly ball down the right-field line. Sal Frelick got a great jump on the ball and made a fine catch in foul territory, while jumping on the wall padding in front of the right-field stands. The next batter, Ian Happ, hit a slicing foul down the left field line that a gimpy Chourio caught in foul ground, after losing his hat. Two innings later, Michael Busch hit a chopper down the first base line that Vaughn caught in foul territory and flipped to Koenig for the third out, beating the runner by a half-step.

Top Performers

• William Contreras, 2-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI
• Jackson Chourio, 1-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI
• Christian Yelich, 3-for-4, R
• Andrew Vaughn, 1-for-3, R, HR, 3 RBI
• Joey Ortiz, 2-for-4, R
• Jacob Misiorowski, 3 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 4 K

Not So Great, Bob
Brice Turang, 0-for-4, K

What’s On Tap?
After yet another day off, the NLDS will continue at Wrigley Field on Wednesday afternoon, with the Brewers’ Quinn Priester facing Jameson Taillon of the Cubs in a Game 3 closeout opportunity.