MILWAUKEE -- Jackson Chourio’s slump stretched to 0-for-18 with a hitless afternoon on Sunday, but he still found a way to play a starring role in a Brewers win with something he said he'd never done at any level of baseball.
Chourio leaped at the left-center field wall and pulled back what would have been a tying home run in the eighth inning of the Brewers’ 5-2 win over the Twins at American Family Field. It was a catch that proved to be a game-saver for Milwaukee and a streak-buster for Minnesota, which saw its 13-game winning spree come to an end.
“I saw him tracking it down in the gap, and, oh man, those would have been really big runs for them,” said Brewers reliever Nick Mears, who watched the play develop from the mound. “Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, and I’m lucky to have Chourio out there.”
Out in the bullpen, Brewers Trevor Megill watched the play unfold from the other side of the outfield wall.
“Dude, I turned around at the last second and just saw a glove peeking over the wall with a ball in it,” Megill said. “I freaked out. That was badass.”
It was also much-needed for the Brewers, coming off four shutout losses in the last five games. Brewers starter Freddy Peralta said he was up most of the night Saturday into Sunday thinking about the importance of winning the series finale. Megill said that on a scale of 1-10, the “need to win” meter was sitting at 11.
For the Brewers, the first hurdle was scoring some runs. They’d never been shut out four times in any five-game span before last week, so fans delivered a standing ovation when Sal Frelick’s second-inning single scored Milwaukee’s first run in 20 innings, and there were more cheers in the third when a two-out rally produced three more runs to make it 4-0.
But the lead had been cut to 4-2 by the eighth when Royce Lewis, with a runner on base and one home run already on the scorecard Sunday, lofted a long fly ball. Chourio ranged over and timed his leap just right to pull back the baseball for an out in what became a scoreless half-inning.
It was a much-needed highlight for Chourio, who had a tough time in center field on the Brewers’ last road trip and is only playing there because two Gold Glove-caliber outfielders, Garrett Mitchell and Blake Perkins, are on the injured list.
“I’m very happy. That was the first home run robbery I’ve ever had,” Chourio said. “Just being able to show the ability to do that, I’m happy about that.”
He played plenty of center field in the Minor Leagues but manned the corners for the Brewers last season, when a second-half surge carried him to a third-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year balloting.
This year, he’s needed in center, and it hasn’t been an entirely smooth transition. On the last road trip, Chourio misplayed one base hit in Tampa for his first Major League error and an unearned run in a one-run loss, then misplayed two balls in Cleveland including a missed catch that was scored a three-run double.
On Sunday, Chourio didn’t miss.
“It shows everybody that mistakes that happen in the past are mistakes, and as a player you should get some work and get better, and then you can do something big in the next couple of days,” Peralta said. “Today he saved the game.
“I’m really happy for him. As soon as I saw him I said, ‘This is you. This is what you have to do. Trust in yourself and everything is going to be fine.’”
How does Chourio separate offense and defense?
“Like I’ve always said, I’m going out there to win,” Chourio said. “When I’m going up to hit, I’m just looking to make good contact. Then whenever I’m going out on defense, I’m looking to make whatever play that’s asked of me.”
Even Lewis was impressed, albeit reluctantly. He doffed his batting helmet and raised in the air, trying to get Chourio’s attention.
“He didn’t look at me, man. I’m mad at him, I was holding it for like a minute. I walked all the way across the field,” Lewis joked. “It’s a great play. You have to respect good baseball.”
The Twins-Brewers rematch in Minnesota won’t come until next month. The Brewers will try to score some more runs before then.
“We’re not dead,” Megill said. “Don’t count us out, that’s for sure.”