LOS ANGELES — One day after exiting Game 3 with a right hamstring injury, Jackson Chourio was back in the Brewers’ starting lineup for Friday night’s must-win Game 4 of the NLCS against the Dodgers.
He was batting second and playing left field for the crucial matchup at Dodger Stadium.
“I think they’ve got it under control,” said Brewers manager Pat Murphy. “I think he’s going to perform like he did yesterday — three hard contacts yesterday. What else can you ask? You might walk away and say, ‘He was 0-for-4.’ But he hit the ball hard three times and had nothing to show for it.”
Chourio appeared to be in a great deal of pain as he grabbed his hamstring and hopped off the field after fouling off a pitch in the seventh inning on Thursday, but he downplayed the injury following the 3-1 loss that left the Brewers in a 3-0 hole against the Dodgers.
“It was a cramp. Just a cramp there,” Chourio said via interpreter Daniel de Mondesert. “I think I maybe tried to pull the trigger a little bit too hard there and that’s what caused it. But just a cramp.”
It was the second time this postseason that Chourio exited a game due to his bothersome right hamstring.
He also left Game 1 of the NLDS against the Cubs after aggravating the same hamstring he had initially strained on July 29 against the Cubs. Similar to this time around, Chourio was in the lineup the next day and had not missed a game since.
The Brewers’ offense will take all the help it can get after being held to just three runs through the first three games of the NLCS. Chourio has driven in two of those three runs, and he’s slashing .276/.290/.552 with two homers and eight RBIs in eight games this postseason.
Overall, Chourio has a .325 average and a 1.024 OPS in 11 career playoff games.
