MILWAUKEE — Jackson Chourio tied the game in the eighth with his second homer of the night and pinch-hitter Garrett Mitchell delivered a two-run shot later in the inning to give the Milwaukee Brewers a 5-3 victory over the New York Mets on Wednesday night that evened their NL Wild Card Series.
The teams will play a decisive Game 3 on Thursday night. The Brewers will attempt to become the first team to rally to win a best-of-three wild-card series after losing the opener since MLB went to this expanded playoff format in 2022.
Milwaukee trailed 3-2 when Chourio led off the eighth by homering to right-center off losing pitcher Phil Maton, making his fourth appearance on the mound in five days. The 20-year-old rookie also opened the bottom of the first inning with a drive to right.
He became the youngest player to hit a leadoff homer in the postseason and the first player in postseason history with a leadoff HR and a game-tying HR in the eighth inning or later in the same game
After Blake Perkins singled and William Contreras hit into a double play, Willy Adames kept the eighth inning alive with a single. Mitchell then sent a first-pitch curveball just over the wall in right-center, a 390-foot shot that sent the American Family Field crowd into a frenzy.
“I was just looking for something out over the plate and I recognized curveball early,” Mitchell told ESPN.
“I’ve been getting ready (to hit) since about the fourth inning, so was just trying to stay active and ready to go.”
Devin Williams retired the side in order in the ninth to earn the save. Joe Ross picked up the win after pitching 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Information from ESPN Research, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers and The Associated Press was used in this report.
