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    • Homers from Brewers’ Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell unforgettable
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    Homers from Brewers’ Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell unforgettable

    Madoc Meredith Posted on

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    The seeds of the inning that may have revitalized playoff baseball in Milwaukee were sown nearly a decade ago on a dirt field in Maracaibo, Venezuela, when Reinaldo Hidalgo stood behind a rickety chain-link fence, stopwatch and notepad in hand, and struck first Ball laid The spotlight turned to a teenager who had an explosive swing from the right side, blistering speed on the bases, a strong throwing arm and an unmistakable smile.

    At that moment, Hidalgo, then an international scout for the Milwaukee Brewers, knew he had stumbled upon a special player who had almost indescribable but equally undeniable qualities. In a small gathering on a nondescript field, Hidalgo was the first to learn the lesson that has defined baseball in recent years, never more so than Wednesday at American Family Field in Milwaukee and perhaps for decades to come.

    To see Jackson Chourio play baseball is to feel awe.

    Not long after that initial sighting, in the winter of 2017, many of the Brewers brothers gathered in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, for a training session that Chourio also attended. The group that was there to check out the 13-year-old shortstop that the team’s scouts had been raving about included current general manager Matt Arnold. He saw it – that indescribable, inimitable quality woven into Chourio’s genes.

    “There are those moments where you think, ‘Oh, he’s slowing the game down,'” Arnold said of the first time he saw Chourio. “He sees it. You just think, ‘Wow.'”

    Arnold from the executive suite on the third level of the ballpark in Milwaukee saw it again Wednesday night during the inning on the shores of Lake Michigan – or 2,500 miles away in Maracaibo – that will not soon be forgotten, the inning that saved the season for the Milwaukee Brewers.

    With a hit against the New York Mets, Chourio single-handedly restored hope to the city’s belief in playoff baseball, just as the relentless month of October was poised to deal another major blow to the Brewers.

    Minutes later, Garrett Mitchell brought everything back to life.

    A 5-3 win forced a decisive Game 3 on Thursday night at the same venue where magic just happened.

    “It was just an incredible year,” Chourio said. “There isn’t much more to say about it. It’s been an incredible year for everyone, for all the guys in this clubhouse. I think we’ve seen the fruits of that.”

    Before Chourio dug his blue-and-white spikes into the sand in the right batter’s box and took the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Brewers trailed the Mets 3-2. Elimination was staring them in the face. Again.

    Milwaukee came six outs short of its fourth consecutive quick exit from the postseason, marking its seventh straight playoff loss. It would have been the club’s 11th defeat in its last 12 postseason games.

    See, this is the team where Trent Grisham couldn’t field a grounder, where Brent Suter couldn’t find the strike zone, where Josh Hader gave up a home run left to left, which happened to 1% of opposing lefties – Hander plate appearances where Kolten Wong bunted, where Corbin Burnes turned into batting practice, where Evan Longoria jumped and where neither Joel Payamps nor Frankie Montas could cover first base.

    Had the Brewers quietly disintegrated in the final two innings Tuesday, it might have been the final blow to a city desperate to love playoff baseball again.

    But this time, Mets right-hander Phil Maton threw a cutter to a 20-year-old outfielder and then a curveball to a kid from Southern California who crushes breaking pitches.

    The Brewers didn’t go down without a fight. Not this time.

    Maton’s cutter was right in the wheelhouse of Chourio’s swing, its violent simplicity tailor-made for the power of the opposing field. Chourio unloaded the ball and smashed it toward right field, which was intended to land directly over the visiting bullpen. Chourio knew he got it. So did the 40,350 fans in attendance.

    The ball landed on the façade of the stands and bounced off the Miller Lite sign at the bottom of section 202, a reminder that while the 20-year-old Chourio isn’t legally allowed to drink in the land of brewing, he has already identified himself as one of them They have established the most clutch players in franchise playoff history.

    “The clutch guys are letting it happen and meeting the game halfway,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “Jackson has mastered this at a young age and doesn’t know any better. It’s beautiful.”

    The second home run of the game not only made Chourio the second youngest player in baseball history to hit a multiple home run game in the postseason, but also made him only the second player to ever hit two game-winning home runs in the same playoff game. The other one?

    Baby Ruth.

    And just like George Herman, Chourio was in charge.

    “I think it’s going to be a beautiful game out there,” Chourio said Wednesday afternoon, four hours before first pitch, when asked what to expect from the Brewers in Game 2.

    “The guy is unreal,” Brewers second baseman Brice Turang said. “Unreal.”

    Four batters after Chourio, after a two-out single by Willy Adames, Mitchell lifted another ball toward right field, lifting it with him as it spun higher and higher into the fall night, and there was a belief in the stadium that Maybe, just maybe, this year it will be different.

    As the ball bounced over the fence and over it, as Mitchell turned and waved euphorically to the crowd, as he rounded first base, as the stadium turned into a sea of ​​swirling yellow towels, the Brewers had taken the lead through the personification of The word was plastered in bold yellow letters above the shelter of the house.

    Undaunted.

    “Once again, you saw what our team is about, what it’s been about all year,” Murphy said.

    It was a thrill not only for Mitchell, but also for those who followed his career closely. The 26-year-old outfielder, a Type 1 diabetic who missed most of last season and the first three months of this year due to injury, has faced his fair share of curveballs.

    Then Maton threw him another one. He crushed it.

    “When you go up there, the moment demands you go faster,” Mitchell said. “Try to do more. Swing for the fences. Whatever you think. For me it was simply: ‘Attack in the zone.’ Be yourself. Be relaxed.'”

    Chourio’s explosion caused the building to shake. Mitchell almost made it. They were a reminder of what Milwaukee was built on: not just cream-colored bricks, breweries and industrial plants and an indomitable spirit, but also baseball.

    “From day one, I felt the support and love that the city and the fans of Milwaukee have shown me,” Chourio said. “I was always extremely grateful and happy for that. These are the moments we can share together, both me personally and the city of Milwaukee. I’m just very happy that we can celebrate this together.”

    Two players. Two swings. An incredible victory that, if the Brewers find a way to take care of business in Game 3 on Thursday night, will go from incredible to indelible in the fabric of Milwaukee baseball.

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    Madoc Meredith
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