MILWAUKEE — It was only a matter of time before Jackson Chourio started to find his footing as a big leaguer for the Milwaukee Brewers. That time may have finally come Wednesday afternoon.
The rookie phenom and former top prospect turned what should have been nothing more than a two-out single into an inside-the-park home run and, for good measure, padded his rookie resume with a spectacular diving catch later in the game as the Brewers finished off a sweep of the Texas Rangers with a 10-inning, 6-5 victory at American Family Field.
Jackson Chourio motors all the way home for a game-tying inside-the-park home run ? pic.twitter.com/uW1ipekW0s
— MLB (@MLB) June 26, 2024
Jackson Chourio’s Inside-the-Park Homer Helps Power Brewers Win
Jackson Chourio’s heroics for the Brewers Wednesday are just the latest in what’s shaping up to be the best month of the young star’s career. He was batting just .207 after going 0-for-2 with a strikeout in a June 1 victory over the Chicago White Sox. but has been on fire ever since, slashing .312/.358/.508 with three homers, 13 RBI, and an .866 OPS over his last 20 games to raise his season average to .236. He has been showing steady growth as a player since the start of the season.
“Thankfully, just feeling better every single day. Hopefully we can maintain this,” he said. “Truthfully, there hasn’t been a lot different. I just think things are going my way and some of those hits are falling now.”
Indeed, they are. Chourio’s batting average on balls in play is .340 during that same stretch, but to do what he did Wednesday requires a little bit of luck, which he certainly got when Rangers outfielder Derek Hill tried for a diving catch, allowing Chourio’s ball to roll all the way back to the wall.
Just like that, the speedy Chourio was off to the races.
“As soon as I saw the ball pass him the only thing I was thinking was making it to home,” Chourio said. “I did think he was going to catch it. But when I did see it pass him, it was time to go.”
Keuchel’s Debut A Mixed Bag
Dallas Keuchel went four innings in his first big-league start since last September.
Acquired Tuesday from the Seattle Mariners in an effort to shore up Milwaukee’s injury-ravaged starting rotation, the veteran left-hander allowed five runs on eight hits, including a pair of home runs, with a walk and four strikeouts over four innings.
“It felt good. Definitely didn’t lack (for) entertainment,” said Keuchel, who’d spent the season at Triple-A Tacoma where he was 7-4 with a 3.93 ERA in 13 starts. “I think it was a little bit of a mixed bag in terms of my outing. We knew they were going to be a little aggressive. But outside of the two-run homer, not a ton of pitches I would take back. I kind of wobbled there in the second with some uncharacteristic lack of command, but I exhausted myself pretty early.
“I was pretty excited. I’m hoping to get a lot more stamina back, and a little bit more poise.”
Keuchel breezed through his first inning, retiring the side on a ground ball back to the mound and a pair of strikeouts but gave up four straight singles to open the second, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead. After another 1-2-3 effort in the third, the Brewers staked him to a 4-1 lead on Jake Bauers‘ grand slam, but a leadoff walk followed by back-to-back homers made it a tie game in the fourth.
The Rangers added one more later in the inning before Keuchel finally got out of it.
Postgame Reactions
Keuchel admitted afterward that the whirlwind of being traded, traveling to Milwaukee (Tacoma was playing in Houston at the time of the deal), getting settled in, meeting his new teammates, and having roughly 12 hours to prepare for his first start was a bit exhausting and may have played a factor in his performance.
“I won’t use that as an excuse by any means but it’s a real thing, travel-wise, and all the unknown,” Keuchel said. “But at the same time, I felt pretty good out there. I think the way I felt didn’t produce the outcome, so that’s a little frustrating. But at the same time, there was plenty of stuff that I was happy with.”
Manager Pat Murphy was pleased, too, especially with the amount of prep work Keuchel managed to fit in on such short notice as well as the way the veteran found ways to minimize the damage and keep things from getting out of hand.
“I could have pulled him after the third because we had (Jakob) Junis behind him that could go another three,” Murphy said. “We had all our bullpen fresh. I could have done a better service to him and pulled him after the third. That wasn’t the plan, and he wasn’t going to tell me, ‘Hey, I’m tired.’
“But I think you noticed he wasn’t as fresh or as sharp and the ball wasn’t going down like it normally does. But, I think this guy can help us.”
Milestone Moment for Yelich
Christian Yelich‘s steal of second base in the third inning gave him 16 for the season and made him the 49th player in MLB history to steal 200 bases and hit 200 home runs and 300 doubles. He’s the fifth active player to achieve that milestone and just the second player to hit all three marks in the same season.
Roster Moves
With Gary Sánchez headed to the injured list and Keuchel joining the roster, the Brewers made a flurry of corresponding moves prior to their series finale against Texas.
The Brewers promoted catcher Eric Haase from Triple-A Nashville to replace Sánchez. Signed to a one-year deal last December with the plan of backing up William Contreras behind the plate, Haase was Milwaukee’s best hitter during spring training, batting .395 (15-for-38) with five home runs and 18 RBI in 15 Cactus League games. Despite that production, he became the odd man out when Milwaukee signed Sánchez at the start of camp.
Out of minor-league options, the Brewers designated Haase, 31, for assignment on March 28. After he cleared waivers, he was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville where he slashed .279/.367/.503 with nine home runs, 31 RBI, and an .870 OPS in 41 games.
Both Haase and Keuchel required spots on the 40-man roster. To clear room for their additions, right-hander Joe Ross was transferred to the 60-day injured list and right-hander Joel Kuhnel, who’d joined the team just a day earlier, was designated for assignment.
Injury Report
- RHP Devin Williams threw a bullpen session before the game Wednesday. This marked the first time the All-Star closer threw off a mound since the diagnosis of stress fractures in his back during spring training. Barring any setbacks, the reigning NL Reliever of the Year could return to the Brewers “roughly in the middle to end of July,” according to Arnold, which would provide a significant boost to a bullpen that’s surprisingly been one of the best in baseball despite Williams’ absence.”Getting that kind of guy back, acquiring the reliever of the year at the (trade) deadline, would be a good thing for this team,” Arnold said.
- C/1B/DH Gary Sánchez went on the 10-day IL with a low-grade strain of his left calf.
- 3B Joey Ortiz was pulled from Wednesday’s game with neck tightness. Murphy says it has been an issue since the team’s recent West Coast road trip. “He says it feels OK but doesn’t feel great swinging. Even [Tuesday], it didn’t feel great swinging. In the middle of the game he had talked to the trainers a little bit, so we made the change.”
- INF Oliver Dunn went on the 10-day IL, retroactive to June 19, with a back strain.
Up Next
As charged-up as American Family Field was Wednesday, it’ll be even more lively this weekend as the Chicago Cubs — and manager Craig Counsell — come to town for a three-game series. The Cubs’ last visit marked Counsell’s first appearance at American Family Field since jumping to the Cubs after nine seasons on the Brewers’ bench, and the Milwaukee native was showered with jeers every time his name was mentioned or he stepped foot on the field.
Expect more of the same Friday night … and all weekend long.
Photo Credit: © Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports
