Brewers Power Surge Pushes Cubs to the Brink in NLDS

The win gives Milwaukee a commanding 2-0 advantage in the best-of-five series, heading to Wrigley Field one victory away from the National League Championship Series. History is squarely on their side; teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five format have historically won 80 out of 90 times.

The Unlikely Home Run Barrage

The Brewers’ offense—which finished 22nd in Major League Baseball in home runs during the regular season—unleashed a stunning three-homer barrage that flipped the game and rewrote a franchise record.

The Cubs delivered the first punch, a Seiya Suzuki three-run shot in the top of the first off Brewers opener Aaron Ashby. But the lead was short-lived. In the bottom of the inning, after two two-out singles, Andrew Vaughn connected for a massive three-run homer to instantly tie the game. It was a clutch moment for Vaughn, who hadn’t gone deep since mid-August, and it marked the first three-run homer in Brewers postseason history.

The power-hitting would continue. William Contreras broke the 3-3 tie in the third with a solo blast off Cubs starter Shota Imanaga. Then, in the fourth inning, with the score 4-3, the exclamation point arrived from the bat of phenom Jackson Chourio. Playing through a tight hamstring that had him questionable for the game, Chourio crushed a three-run shot off reliever Daniel Palencia. Improbably, the Brewers, who had never hit a three-run homer in the postseason before this game, hit a second one just three innings later.

Chourio’s heroic presence was a story in itself, coming after he had to exit Game 1 early. His three hits in the series opener already made him the first player ever to record three hits in the first two innings of a postseason game, and his Game 2 homer only solidified his arrival on the national stage.

The 104.3 MPH Stopper

While the lineup was flexing muscle, the victory truly hinged on a performance that emerged from the bullpen: the electric, three-inning shutout effort from rookie flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski.

Entering the game in a 3-3 tie in the third inning after opener Aaron Ashby, Misiorowski delivered the most pivotal performance of the night. He rediscovered the overpowering form that made him a mid-season All-Star, striking out four batters while allowing only one hit over three scoreless frames.

His fastball velocity was nothing short of breathtaking. Misiorowski hit 100 mph or higher on 31 of his 57 pitches, with 12 of them registering at least 102 mph, and topping out at an eye-popping 104.3 mph. His effort to shut down the Cubs’ offense earned him the win and was crucial to stabilizing a bullpen game that had started shaky.

“I think I was so fired up, adrenaline pumping, you know, didn’t really know where my feet were,” Misiorowski said after the game. “But we landed, so it was fun. It was a lot of fun.”

The collective relief corps, led by Misiorowski, Nick Mears, Chad Patrick, Jared Koenig, Trevor Megill, and Abner Uribe, combined for 7 1/3 innings of shutout relief, allowing the Cubs just a single hit after the first inning’s three-run homer.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy praised the young reliever for more than just the radar gun readings. “You guys get all enthralled with MPH. I’m enthralled that he wasn’t giving up free bases, kept his composure with runners and that type of thing.”

The combination of unexpected power at the plate and a dazzling, shutdown performance from a rookie reliever has catapulted the Brewers to the brink of the NLCS. The series now shifts to Chicago, where the Cubs will try to extend their season against a Brewers team that is overwhelming them in every facet of the game. For the reigning NL Central champions, the road to the next round is now just one flight—and one win—away.