For the third consecutive game, the Milwaukee Brewers couldn’t generate enough offense to stay in it, losing 3–1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday at Dodger Stadium. Milwaukee now finds itself down 0–3 in the National League Championship Series, with no margin for error and an urgent need to turn things around. However, the team’s biggest concern heading into Game 4 may be the health of outfielder Jackson Chourio, who exited in the seventh inning with renewed hamstring discomfort.
Chourio has been one of Milwaukee's few bright spots this postseason. The young star hit his fourth career playoff home run in Game 2 off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, continuing a breakout campaign that followed a strong regular season in which he slashed .270/.308/.463 with 21 homers, 78 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases over 131 games. The Brewers invested heavily in Chourio before his debut, signing him to an eight-year, $82 million contract extension in December 2023.
The right-hander’s latest setback occurred in the seventh inning of Game 3. After fouling off a pitch from Los Angeles reliever Blake Treinen, Chourio appeared to tweak his right hamstring, hopping in visible discomfort before being escorted off the field by trainers. Blake Perkins replaced him mid-at-bat and struck out, with the plate appearance still credited to Chourio.
After the game, Brewers manager Pat Murphy told reporters that Chourio was dealing with continual cramps in his hamstring (h/t Curt Hogg of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). The team hopes he will be ready for Game 4 on Friday. Chourio, for his part, expressed optimism about playing after noting that he had a cramp, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
Chourio has dealt with recurring right hamstring issues since midsummer, having missed a month on the injured list during the regular season before re-aggravating it in the NLDS against the Chicago Cubs.
Chourio’s injury comes amid a deep offensive slump for Milwaukee. Through the first three games of the NLCS, the Brewers have scored just three total runs on nine hits, with only one hit coming with runners in scoring position. Their only home run in the series belongs to Chourio, whose leadoff blast in Game 2 accounted for one of Milwaukee’s few early leads this postseason. Rookie infielder Caleb Durbin has been another rare bright spot, collecting two of the team’s four hits in Game 3, a double and a triple, while Jake Bauers notched the club’s only RBI.
On the mound, rookie Jacob Misiorowski impressed again, striking out nine over five innings, setting a franchise postseason record for a rookie, while allowing just two runs (one earned). While Misiorowski pitched well, Abner Uribe and Jared Koenig, the Brewers’ bats couldn’t capitalize, striking out 12 times and going 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
