Milwaukee Brewers stun Padres again in ninth — NL Central and West roundup

The top seed is playing like it. Jackson Chourio’s two-run walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth gave the Milwaukee Brewers a 4-3 comeback win over the San Diego Padres on Sunday and a commanding 2-0 lead in their Division Series.

Chourio’s latest heroics underline Brewers’ “final boss” push

Coming off a 103-win regular season and a second straight year with MLB’s best record, the Brewers entered October under pressure to shed their underdog image. On Sunday, they looked the part. Trailing 3-2 in the ninth, Milwaukee flipped the game on Chourio’s two-run walk-off single, sending American Family Field into chaos and pushing San Diego to the brink.

The finish came one day after a controversial ending to Game 1, when Ty France’s deep fly ball struck a roof cable and was ruled a live ball that turned into a pivotal out in the Padres’ 3-2 loss. In the wake of that debate, Milwaukee had already announced that the roof would be open for Game 2, aiming to take the ballpark’s infrastructure out of the story line.

Instead, the narrative now centers on a Brewers team winning in multiple ways. After rediscovering their power stroke in the series opener, they followed up with a late-inning rally, the sort of statement performance expected from a club being urged to embrace a "final boss" mindset this postseason.

Padres’ vaunted bullpen backs into a corner

Coming into the Division Series, one of the key questions around San Diego was whether its bullpen strength could carry it through a long October run. Two nights in Milwaukee have not followed that script. Late-inning swings have tilted both games the Brewers’ way, leaving the Padres down 2-0 and under pressure to find answers back home.

Dodgers edged by Braves’ bullpen-game gamble

In Los Angeles, the Dodgers dropped a 3-2 decision to the Atlanta Braves in NLDS Game 2. Before first pitch, Atlanta confirmed that Chris Sale would not start, opting instead for another bullpen game. That strategy was enough to keep the Dodgers’ lineup in check, tightening the series dynamic as it shifts away from Chavez Ravine.

Elsewhere in the NL Central and West, everyone but Milwaukee, San Diego and Los Angeles is already into offseason mode after the regular season. The Padres (91-71) and Dodgers (100-62) are the West’s lone playoff teams, while the Brewers (103-59) are carrying the flag for the Central ahead of clubs like the Chicago Cubs (89-73), Pittsburgh Pirates (82-80) and St. Louis Cardinals (77-85), all done for the year.