The Milwaukee Brewers surged out to a 2-0 Division Series lead over the Chicago Cubs on Monday, Oct. 6, winning 7-3 after erasing a three-run first inning deficit thanks to three-run home runs from first baseman Andrew Vaughn and injured star Jackson Chourio.
The Brewers’ bullpen covered 22 outs and looked excellent in doing so, allowing just one hit during that time, while Cubs stars like Pete Crow-Armstrong and Shōta Imanaga endured ugly games once again. Here are the winners and losers from Game 2 of the NLDS.
Winner: Jackson Chourio
After exiting early with an apparent hamstring strain during the Brewers’ Game 1 win over Chicago — but not before he’d become the first player in MLB history to pick up three hits in the first two innings of a game — Jackson Chourio made it back into the lineup for Game 2. This time, Chourio went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run to blow the game open. In spite of his ailing hamstring, Chourio also managed to leg out another infield single, boosting his postseason slash line to an otherworldly .714/.714/1.286 with five hits and six RBI in just seven at-bats.
The 21-year-old star departed ahead of the ninth inning, perhaps in a bid from Brewers’ manager Pat Murphy to avoid overtaxing his hamstring, but still did more than his part to give Milwaukee a commanding series lead.
Winner: Brewers’ Bullpen
The Cubs raced out to a 3-0 lead on the road on Monday night after Seiya Suzuki clubbed a three-run home run off Brewers’ reliever/opener Aaron Ashby, who managed five outs. After Ashby left the game, Milwaukee allowed just one hit and two walks the rest of the way, their bullpen picking up ten strikeouts.
Jacob Misiorowski went three innings in his playoff debut, keeping the Cubs’ offense from tacking on any more runs and giving the Brewers’ bats a chance to swipe back the lead; Chad Patrick pitched a clean sixth, striking out two batters on just 11 pitches, and Abner Uribe struck out the side on 13 pitches to seal the win in the ninth. Despite covering 22 outs, Misiorowski (a starter by trade) was the only Brewers reliever to throw more than 16 pitches, Milwaukee managing to keep their bullpen fresh going into a potential series clincher in Chicago.
Loser: Pete Crow-Armstrong
Cubs’ center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong had another brutal game on Monday night, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and a popout to third. He also ended up on the blooper reel, attempting to rob Jackson Chourio of a home run that sailed at least 20 feet over his head, collapsing awkwardly to the warning track after the futile extension.
PCA almost had that one pic.twitter.com/clMHN4ePh8
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) October 7, 2025
An MVP candidate for the first three months of the 2025 season, the young star slumped hard to begin July and hasn’t recovered yet. He has just four hits in 18 at-bats to begin his playoff career, striking out 10 times without any walks, and also has a caught stealing to his name.
Loser: Shōta Imanaga
The Cubs’ offense gave starting pitcher Shōta Imanaga everything he could’ve hoped for in Game 2, surging out to a 3-0 lead on the road before he threw his first pitch of the evening. Imanaga appeared ready to roll, striking out the first two batters he faced, then promptly unraveled, allowing two quick singles before first baseman Andrew Vaughn erased the lead via a three-run homer with the count full.
William Contreras hit a solo shot off Imanaga in the third, giving Milwaukee a lead that held, and the Brewers chased the Cubs’ left-hander from the game just two pitches later. Imanaga now has six earned runs to his name across 6.2 postseason innings, Chicago losing every game he’s pitched so far.
