MILWAUKEE – The longer the Brewers play into the postseason, the more Jackson Chourio feels like himself on the basepaths.
Chourio has been able to start every game in left field since re-aggravating a right hamstring injury in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Cubs, but it was clear at various points of the series that he was playing at less than 100 percent. He nevertheless performed, going 7-for-18 with two doubles, a home run, six RBIs and a 1.088 OPS to help the Brewers beat the Cubs in five games.
“Defensively, I don’t think it’s been much of a problem,” Chourio said via interpreter Daniel de Mondesert. “I think I’ve been able to make all the plays and give 100 percent effort to make whatever plays have been needed. On the bases is where, sure, I think I’ve definitely, maybe, paid a little bit more mind to it and maybe had to be just a little bit more careful.
“But I think we’re getting closer and closer to being back to 100 percent to where that’s not something that we’re going to have to think about as much.”
A healthy Chourio is a good thing for the Brewers, who committed to him as a future face of the franchise when they signed him to an eight-year, $82 million contract before he’d spent a day in the Major Leagues. He’s responded by becoming the first player in Major League history to secure multiple 20-20 seasons before his 22nd birthday, and by hitting .414/.452/.793 in his first eight postseason games entering this NLCS.
“I think every single day this week that’s passed I’ve been able to feel a little bit better,” he said. “I feel comfortable to say I’m close to 100 percent right now.”
Fans following the Brewers’ postseason run may have noticed the flag of the Dominican Republic in footage of the team’s clinch celebrations. It belongs to closer Abner Uribe, who was inspired by one of his favorite players while growing up in Santo Domingo.
“When I was a kid, I really liked watching Yordano Ventura pitch,” Uribe said of the late right-hander, who won a World Series with the 2015 Royals before he died in a car accident in January 2017. “It’s something I always really enjoyed, just the way he went about it, the way he would throw. I always remember him being with the flag at all times.
“It’s a great honor. It’s a great pride to be able [to carry it]. And it makes me very happy to be able to bring it up and do it myself now.”
Uribe had reason to be proud after logging the first multi-inning save of his career in Game 5 of the NLDS against the Cubs, protecting a two-run lead. He did it efficiently on 22 pitches, leaving him fully available for Game 1 against the Dodgers two days later.
That follows a regular season in which he logged a 1.67 ERA in 75 appearances – a significant bounce back after his early-season struggle with command and emotion led to a demotion to the Minor Leagues in May 2024, and a suspension for his role in a benches-clearing incident with the Rays. Uribe served that suspension at the start of this season and has been a force for the Brewers ever since.
“I’m really proud of him and I let him know all the time, because I know his process in the Minors, how difficult it was for him,” said Brewers ace (and fellow Dominican) Freddy Peralta. “What he has done here for us and for his career has been unbelievable. I wish him the best and hopefully he keeps doing that for many years, because what he has done already is very impressive.”
USA Today reported after the Brewers’ Game 5 win over the Cubs that pitching coach Chris Hook’s visit to Uribe in the eighth inning was to warn the right-hander he might be tipping pitches. Whether Uribe was or was not, it’s a matter the Brewers are mindful of as they get set to face the crafty Dodgers, who are known for picking up these things.
So were the Cubs. The Brewers think Chicago had a tip on left-hander Aaron Ashby when he started Game 3 and allowed a three-run home run to Seiya Suzuki.
“They had his pitches,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “Suzuki looked to first and saw the sign. It was a changeup, and he hit a high changeup, which is Ashby’s third pitch.”
They’ll have to be similarly vigilant in the NLCS. Brewers officials believe the Dodgers had multiple scouts watching the NLDS from various locations of American Family Field and Wrigley Field, looking for any small edge that could impact the next series.
“I don’t like to think about it, but I understand and I know it’s really important,” said Peralta, who will start Game 2 for Milwaukee on Tuesday. “I think that we have the people here that are in charge to check on us and make sure that we are doing it right. But at the end of the day, it’s part of the game and you never know — and they are really good at it. But I think you have to stay focused on the game and try to make it simple and not think too much.”
