On a cool October night in Milwaukee, the Brewers and Padres opened their National League Division Series with the kind of game that reminds us why baseball, at its best, is a slow accumulation of pressure and release. Trailing early against a San Diego team that had drawn first blood with patience and precision, Milwaukee found its footing through the long innings, ultimately seizing the lead on William Contreras' eighth-inning home run and holding it with the quiet authority of a team that believes in itself. The 3-2 victory is less a statement of dominance than a testament to resilience — t
Brewers edge Padres 3-2 in NLDS Game 1 thriller behind Contreras homer
Contreras lofted a full-count pitch over the wall in right-center
Mark
So the Brewers were down 2-0 early. How did they come back against a team with that kind of bullpen depth?
Mimi
Chourio hit a solo homer in the third to tie it, and then Contreras went deep in the eighth for the go-ahead run. But it wasn't just the offense—the pitching held up. Misiorowski got worn down, but Hall and Megill came through in tight spots.
Luke
Wait, let's be clear about what happened with Misiorowski. He threw 58 pitches in two innings. That's not sustainable. The Padres' game plan worked—they fouled off a ton of pitches and made him work. He just didn't have enough left.
Mimi
Right, but that's why the bullpen matters. Hall came in with bases loaded and got out of it. Megill struck out Tatis on three pitches with runners at the corners.
Mark
Did the Padres have their chances to score more?
Mimi
Multiple times. Runners in scoring position in the fifth, bases loaded in the seventh, but they couldn't push across a run after the second inning.
Luke
That's the story, though. San Diego got out to 2-0 and then couldn't add on. In a one-run game, that's the difference.
Mark
How significant is Contreras' home run in the context of the series?
Mimi
It's huge. It's his second big postseason homer in consecutive years. He's become a clutch hitter for them.
Luke
One game, though. The Padres have a lot of baseball left. But yes, momentum matters in a best-of-five.
Mark
What about Megill's save?
Mimi
Four outs, one-run lead, facing the top of the order in the ninth. He was perfect. Three pitches to Tatis, all strikes.
Luke
Perfect is the right word. But again, one inning. The series is far from over.
Le Pouls
- San Diego's disciplined approach wore down Milwaukee's starter early, building a 2-0 lead and threatening to set the tone for the entire series.
- Jackson Chourio's third-inning home run — making him the franchise's all-time postseason home run leader at just 22 — jolted the stadium back to life and reset the game's emotional stakes.
- For five tense innings, both bullpens traded scoreless frames while the Padres repeatedly stranded runners in scoring position, leaving their early advantage to quietly erode.
- William Contreras delivered the decisive blow on a full-count pitch in the eighth, his home run off one of San Diego's elite relievers giving Milwaukee its first and only lead of the night.
- Closer Trevor Megill retired four straight Padres — including Fernando Tatis Jr. on three pitches — to seal a victory that now hangs over San Diego like an opportunity they cannot get back.
On a cool October night in Milwaukee, the Brewers and Padres opened their National League Division Series with the kind of game that reminds us why baseball, at its best, is a slow accumulation of pressure and release. Trailing early against a San Diego team that had drawn first blood with patience and precision, Milwaukee found its footing through the long innings, ultimately seizing the lead on William Contreras' eighth-inning home run and holding it with the quiet authority of a team that believes in itself. The 3-2 victory is less a statement of dominance than a testament to resilience — the capacity to absorb adversity and wait, without panic, for the moment that turns a game.
The Milwaukee Brewers fell behind 2-0 before the game had found its rhythm, their young starter Jacob Misiorowski laboring through a San Diego lineup that fouled off pitches and worked counts with the patience of a team that had done its homework. Misiorowski had already thrown 58 pitches by the end of the second inning, and the deficit felt fragile in the wrong direction.
The turning point arrived in the third, when 22-year-old Jackson Chourio took a first-pitch slider from Robbie Ray and drove it over the left-field wall, tying the game at 2-2 and quietly becoming the all-time postseason home run leader in Brewers franchise history. The stadium exhaled. Ray departed shortly after, and what followed was a grinding chess match — pitching changes, high-leverage moments, and the Padres repeatedly putting runners in position only to come away empty. In the seventh, DL Hall entered with the bases loaded and two outs and got Jackson Merrill to fly out to left. The Padres had their chances. They could not convert.
Milwaukee's offense was similarly restrained, managing little beyond the Chourio blast until the eighth inning, when William Contreras stepped in against one of San Diego's elite relievers with two outs already recorded. He worked the count full, then lifted a pitch over the right-center wall for a 3-2 lead — his second decisive postseason home run in consecutive Octobers.
Closer Trevor Megill handled the rest, retiring four straight Padres in the ninth including Fernando Tatis Jr. on three pitches with runners at the corners. The Brewers took Game 1, 3-2, not through dominance but through endurance — absorbing the early pressure, waiting for their moment, and not letting go when it came. The series now moves to Game 2 with Milwaukee carrying momentum and San Diego carrying the particular weight of a lead they could not protect.
The Milwaukee Brewers trailed 2-0 after two innings on Friday night at American Family Field, their starter Jacob Misiorowski laboring through early pressure from a San Diego lineup that had worked him hard and drawn first blood. The Padres' game plan was simple and effective: foul off pitches, keep at-bats alive, wear down the flamethrower who had opened the game with a 104.8 mile-per-hour fastball—the fastest pitch ever recorded in postseason play. By the time the Brewers got their first real chance to swing back, Misiorowski had already thrown 58 pitches in two innings, and the deficit felt like it might grow.
But baseball is a game of momentum, and momentum shifted in the third inning when Jackson Chourio, the 22-year-old left fielder, took a first-pitch slider from Robbie Ray and deposited it over the left-field wall. The home run tied the game at 2-2 and made Chourio, improbably, the all-time leader in postseason home runs in Brewers franchise history. The stadium, which had been tense and nervous through the early innings, suddenly had something to hold onto. Ray left the game after two and two-thirds innings, and the Brewers' bullpen took over a game that had become a chess match of pitching changes and high-leverage moments.
What followed was a grinding, exhausting affair. The Brewers' pitching staff—Misiorowski, then Antonio Senzatela, then Abner Uribe, then DL Hall—kept the Padres off the board through the middle innings, though not without drama. In the fifth, Aaron Ashby threw a wild pitch that moved runners into scoring position, but Jackson Merrill flew out to center. In the seventh, Uribe loaded the bases with two outs before Hall came in and got Jackson Merrill to fly out to left. The Padres had chances. They had runners in position. They could not break through.
The Brewers' offense, meanwhile, had been nearly silent. They saw seven pitches in the first inning and went down in order. They got a Christian Yelich single in the second but could not score. They loaded the bases with one out in the third but Yelich hit into a double play. Through six innings, the game remained tied at 2-2, and both teams seemed to be waiting for someone to blink first.
In the eighth inning, William Contreras stepped to the plate against Adrian Morejón, one of the elite arms in San Diego's remarkable bullpen. The first two Brewers of the inning had swung on the first pitch and made outs—Jackson Chourio was robbed on a diving play by Jake Cronenworth at second base, and Brice Turang flew to left. Contreras worked the count to 2-2, then 3-2, and on a full count, he lofted a pitch over the wall in right-center field. The Brewers had their first lead of the night, 3-2. It was Contreras' second massive postseason home run in as many years, and it came at the moment when the game had begun to feel like it might slip away.
Trevor Megill, the Brewers' closer, took the mound in the ninth inning with a one-run lead and the task of recording four outs to secure the victory. The Padres sent their best hitter, Fernando Tatis Jr., to the plate with runners at the corners and two outs. Megill threw three pitches—all strikes—and Tatis went down swinging. Then came Dustin Harris, Manny Machado, and Ty France, the top of the Padres order. Megill got them all out. The Brewers won 3-2, stealing Game 1 of the National League Division Series from a team that had dominated the early innings but could not finish the job when it mattered most. The series now shifts to Game 2, with Milwaukee carrying the momentum of a comeback and San Diego facing the weight of a missed opportunity.
Citations marquantes
Chourio, age 22, became the all-time leader in Brewers career postseason home runs with his solo blast in the third inning.— Game summary
Manager Pat Murphy on Christian Yelich's inclusion in the lineup: 'I think Yeli's career speaks for itself, what he means to this team speaks for itself. He's had success against Ray.'— Pat Murphy, Brewers manager
Envie de l'histoire complète ?
Lire l'original sur Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ↗