The Padres are staring down the barrel of elimination after Jackson Chourio delivered a gut-wrenching walk-off winner for the Brewers in Game 2, putting Milwaukee up 2-0 in their NLDS series. All the pressure is now squarely on San Diego to keep their season alive.
NLDS Showdowns: East Coast Firepower Heats Up
Over in the other National League Division Series, the Braves just evened things up against the Dodgers, making it 1-1 after a crucial Game 2 win. That victory was powered by a huge RBI double from Michael Harris II and a gutsy bullpen game from Atlanta. Now the Braves are rolling, ready to send their ace, Chris Sale, to the mound for Game 3.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, are going to turn to their World Series MVP, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who’s making his first postseason start of the season. This is big, especially after Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell handled the first two starts for Los Angeles. Freddie Freeman’s been doing his thing, too. He homered in Game 2, a solo shot in their 3-2 loss, and he’s 3 for 7 with a home run and a walk through the first two games. The Dodgers had three home runs in their 5-3 Game 1 win, so the power is there. Get this, Freeman has a history against Sale, hitting 5 for 16 with two home runs and four RBI in his career against the left-hander, with just one strikeout in seven at-bats this series. Yamamoto finished the regular season strong, tossing seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts against Cincinnati on September 15, then allowing two earned runs over six innings with four strikeouts at San Diego on September 23.
Atlanta’s bats, though, have been a bit whiff-heavy, striking out 19 times in the first two games, with nine in Game 1 and ten in Game 2. Michael Harris II had a monster Game 2, going 3-for-5 with a double and a triple, a huge bounce back after going hitless in four at-bats in the opener. He’s been clutch in the postseason overall, going 8 for 20 with four RBI and four runs in five games, including a home run and three RBI in the Wild Card Series. Harris has faced Yamamoto before, too, going 2 for 6 in his career, and he didn’t strike out in Game 2 after fanning once in Game 1. Chris Sale is looking sharp, too. He shut out Los Angeles 1-0 on August 27, throwing nine innings of five-hit ball with 11 strikeouts. In the postseason, he’s punched out nine over 6.1 innings in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series and three more over 1.1 scoreless innings in Game 3, giving him 12 strikeouts and a 3.52 ERA in 7.2 postseason innings. The Dodgers haven’t been immune to the strikeouts either, logging 18 through the first two games, nine in each.
West Coast Drama: The Padres’ Peril
While the Braves and Dodgers battle it out, the Padres are staring into the abyss. Milwaukee has a commanding 2-0 series lead, and that walk-off from Jackson Chourio in Game 2 was absolutely brutal. He hit a two-run home run that just crushed San Diego’s hopes. Chourio has been a one-man wrecking crew for the Brewers offense, driving in four of Milwaukee’s seven runs in this series alone. The Padres need a miracle now.
Game 3 for both of these NLDS series is absolutely critical. Can the Padres pull off a comeback and avoid being swept, or will the Brewers send them packing? And who’s going to seize the series lead between the Braves and Dodgers in what promises to be an epic pitching duel? You don’t want to miss a second of this action, and if you’re looking to get in on it, new users can snag up to $1,500 in bonuses on Dodgers vs. Braves, Padres vs. Brewers with BetMGM bonus code FOXSPORTS.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
Leave a Reply