The Brewers Padres NLDS Game 2 walk-off will live forever in Milwaukee baseball lore. Down to their last strike in the bottom of the ninth on Sunday, the Milwaukee Brewers stunned San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller when 22-year-old Jackson Chourio lined a two-out, two-run single to center field, scoring Christian Yelich and Sal Frelick for a 4-3 victory at American Family Field and a commanding 2-0 lead in the National League Division Series.
With the bases loaded and two outs in a 3-2 game, Chourio rapped the winner on Miller’s 40th pitch of the ballgame, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It was Milwaukee’s first lead of the entire game — and, remarkably, only the third postseason walk-off win in Brewers franchise history.
The Brewers are now one win away from a second straight trip to the National League Championship Series. Last fall, Milwaukee reached the NLCS for the first time since 2018 before being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers. This time, the franchise-record 103-win club has won the first two games at home and heads to San Diego with a chance to close it out.
Brewers Padres NLDS Game 2 walk-off: how the ninth inning unfolded
For eight innings, Sunday’s game looked like one the Brewers would regret. Their defense, the backbone of a 103-win season, committed three errors — and every San Diego run arrived with help from a Milwaukee miscue. Logan Henderson, making his first MLB playoff appearance, was otherwise strong, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits over five innings. Padres starter Michael King retired the first 14 batters he faced and kept Milwaukee’s bats quiet before the San Diego bullpen took over.
San Diego opened the scoring in the first on a Ty France RBI single after a Henderson wild pitch with two outs. The Padres added an unearned run in the fifth and another in the seventh, when a mishandled grounder by third baseman David Hamilton let Fernando Tatis Jr. reach and eventually score on another two-out single from France. France reached base three times and drove in two runs — though he was robbed of a chance at ninth-inning heroics when his high fly ball struck the cable attached to the American Family Field roof.
The Brewers clawed back a run in the fifth on a Frelick RBI single and another in the seventh, when Hamilton’s speed coaxed a bobble and a bad throw from Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth, who was charged with two errors on the play. But Chourio grounded out with the bases loaded to end that threat, and San Diego summoned its best weapon: closer Mason Miller, asked to record a six-out save.
Miller carved up the Brewers on just 12 pitches in the eighth, striking out Brice Turang and Jake Bauers before William Contreras popped out. But the ninth was a different story. Miller walked Yelich with one out — Yelich then stole second — and walked Frelick. Pinch-hitter Andrew Vaughn flew out, but with two down, pinch-hitter Gary Sánchez worked a full-count walk to load the bases for Chourio.
Chourio swung viciously through the first pitch and fouled off another straight back. Down to the last strike at 1-2, he laid off a nasty slider below the zone to even the count at 2-2. Then, on Miller’s 40th pitch, he sent a missile past the outstretched glove of Cronenworth and into center field. Yelich scored easily from third. Frelick raced home from second. Ballgame.
“I’m not sure what it is,” Chourio told Fox Sports after the game, as reported by USA Today. “I just think these moments were made for me. I think it gives me extra adrenaline, and that’s what gets me through it.” Chourio also hit a two-run homer in Game 1 that tied Saturday’s opener, which Milwaukee went on to win 3-2.
Brewers Padres NLDS Game 2 walk-off: a franchise moment
Chourio’s winner was just the third postseason walk-off victory in the 57-year history of the Brewers franchise, according to USA Today’s live coverage. The others: Mike Moustakas’s 10th-inning single in Game 1 of the 2018 NLDS against Colorado, and Nyjer Morgan’s 10th-inning single in the winner-take-all Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS against Arizona.
The 22-year-old Chourio, once one of the most hyped prospects in franchise history, has now authored signature October moments in back-to-back games. Asked about the ninth inning, he reflected on the joy of the moment: “I think it’s probably in the top three of the special moments I’ve had in my career,” he told the Journal Sentinel.
Yelich credited the team’s relentless at-bats after his own one-out walk started the rally. “We believe in our team, we believe in ourselves. And we knew that we were going to put up a fight there and see what happened,” he said. Manager Pat Murphy called it “one of the favorite games I’ve been a part of,” praising Sánchez’s two-strike walk and the patience shown across the lineup.
The reactions went beyond Milwaukee. Fox Sports analyst David Ortiz declared the series finished on the postgame broadcast. “I got so much love for San Diego and everything,” Ortiz said, as reported by Awful Announcing. “But golly. You were supposed to win this game. Now you are against the rope. It’s over. I’m sorry.”
What’s next: Game 3 at Petco Park tonight
The series shifts to San Diego for Game 3 on Tuesday night at 9:30 p.m. ET on FS1, with the Padres facing elimination from a 2-0 deficit. USA Today reported the probable starters as Dustin May for Milwaukee and Nick Pivetta for San Diego, while the Journal Sentinel noted the Brewers will turn to May with a chance at a series sweep.
San Diego has been excellent at home, going 51-30 at Petco Park in the regular season before sweeping the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card Series. But the Padres have now blown late leads in back-to-back games, and Milwaukee — which owned home-field advantage throughout the playoffs after the best record in baseball — has looked every bit like a team built for October.
FAQ
Who hit the walk-off in Brewers vs. Padres NLDS Game 2?
Jackson Chourio. With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth on Oct. 4, 2026, the 22-year-old lined a two-run single to center off Padres closer Mason Miller on his 40th pitch, scoring Christian Yelich and Sal Frelick for a 4-3 Brewers win.
What is the score of the Brewers-Padres NLDS?
The Brewers lead the best-of-five series 2-0. Milwaukee won Game 1, 3-2, and Game 2, 4-3. Game 3 is Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 9:30 p.m. ET at Petco Park in San Diego, airing on FS1, with Dustin May and Nick Pivetta the probable starters.
How many postseason walk-off wins do the Brewers have?
Three in franchise history: Chourio’s Game 2 single in the 2026 NLDS, Mike Moustakas’s 10th-inning single in Game 1 of the 2018 NLDS against the Rockies, and Nyjer Morgan’s 10th-inning single in the winner-take-all Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS against the Diamondbacks.
When did the Brewers last reach the NLCS?
Last fall, in 2025 — the franchise’s first NLCS appearance since 2018. The Brewers were swept 4-0 by the Los Angeles Dodgers. A win in Game 3 would send Milwaukee to its second straight National League Championship Series.
Sources: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Oct 4); USA Today (Oct 4); Awful Announcing (Oct 4); Reuters (Oct 4)
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