This year's NLDS is a bit personal for the Milwaukee Brewers, as they are not just facing division rival Chicago Cubs, they are also facing former manager Craig Counsell, who decided to leave his hometown ballclub for a sworn rival that resides just around 90 miles down south. And the Brewers are certainly playing like they've been wronged, as they have taken a 2-0 lead in the NLDS behind a huge power performance from the team gave them a 7-3 win in Game 2 on Monday night.
The Brewers have remained a very good ballclub even with Counsell's departure, and even though they've lost plenty of crucial contributors over the years, what with the likes of Corbin Burnes and Willy Adames, just to name a few, leaving the team, they have managed to hold steady thanks to the emergence of a few of their key prospects.
In fact, during Counsell's final year managing the Brewers (2023), both Jackson Chourio and Jacob Misiorowski, two players who played a crucial role in handing the Cubs the loss in Game 2, were the team's top prospects. Now, they have emerged as legitimate big-league contributors and are even doing their damage in October.
After the game, the Cubs manager gave his honest thoughts on seeing the players he worked with in the past come back to haunt him and his new team.
“They're both really talented players. I think you expected them to be big leaguers, absolutely,” Counsell said, per Curt Hogg of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Craig Counsell on Jacob Misiorowski and Jackson Chourio, who were the top 2 prospects in the Brewers system in Counsell’s last year in Milwaukee but had arguably the two biggest hands in beating the Cubs tonight: pic.twitter.com/9TZaGWAP1x
— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) October 7, 2025
Chourio was always highly-touted; before he even made it to the big leagues, he signed a contract that could be worth up to as much as $142.5 million over 10 years. The Brewers' faith in him was rewarded immediately.
Meanwhile, Misiorowski has displayed incredible stuff in the big-leagues, and at 23 years of age, it's only a matter of time before he blossoms as a mid to top-of-the-rotation-caliber starter for the Brewers.
Cubs have their backs against the wall
The Cubs could not have started Game 2 of the NLDS any better, with Seiya Suzuki hitting a three-run home run to get things started for the away team. But they could not add to their run tally for the next eight innings while the Brewers ran away with the game thanks to a monster home run from Chourio and a solid relief appearance from Misiorowski.
The Cubs will need herculean efforts to prevent them from snatching their former manager's chain in the postseason.
