Chourio's return from ankle scare highlights G1 victory
CINCINNATI -- Willy Adames and William Contreras homered before the Brewers scratched out a run in the 10th inning to win in Game 1 of Friday’s doubleheader, 5-4, over the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
Even better, rookie left fielder Jackson Chourio appeared to come through unscathed.
Chourio, Milwaukee’s 20-year-old sensation, was helped off the field by two members of the athletic training staff after turning his right ankle when he stepped on first base on a groundout in the fifth inning. It was a serious scare for Chourio and a team that can’t afford to lose him as it chugs toward a third division title in the past four years, especially after losing All-Star left fielder Christian Yelich to season-ending back surgery.
As Chourio neared the dugout, however, he was able to put weight on his right leg. By the time the Brewers made their final out of the fifth, Chourio’s ankle had been examined by head athletic trainer Scott Barringer, and he was ready to sprint to his position in left as if nothing had happened.
“He went down, came back up and was like, ‘I’m good,’” center fielder Garrett Mitchell said. “Must be nice to be 20.”
Said manager Pat Murphy: “I was trying to be undaunted, but I felt some daunt.”
That feeling was brief. After Chourio singled in his subsequent at-bat in the eighth inning, he was feeling spry enough to attempt a stolen base.
He was out, but the Brewers managed to score in the 10th to take the opening game of their first doubleheader this season. Knowing that closer Devin Williams was available, Murphy called for Brice Turang to bunt leading off the decisive inning, and he beat out a single while pushing the free runner to third for Sal Frelick’s go-ahead double-play groundout.
Williams made that run count when he held the Reds scoreless in the bottom of the 10th for his seventh save since coming off the injured list. Five of those saves have come in one-run games, though this one had the added challenge of a free runner in scoring position. With that tying runner at third and the go-ahead runner at first, Williams won a 10-pitch battle with Cincinnati designated hitter Ty France to end the game, getting a lazy flyout to right field.
“That’s why I chose to have Turang bunt,” Murphy said. “That’s not how you do it on the road, usually. You play for two [runs]. I just felt like with Devin available…”
Williams did the job after all of the Brewers’ top relievers before him had done the same. Murphy managed for the moment, using Bryan Hudson, Joel Payamps, Jared Koenig and Trevor Megill ahead of Williams, who has 14 saves and a 1.41 ERA in 32 career innings against the Reds. They have batted .104 while striking out at a 53 percent clip against Williams.
“I think that’s just how Murph manages. The opportunity for a win was there, so he went for it,” Williams said. “I think all the players would get behind something like that.”
On such a hot and humid day, all the players were equally behind the opportunity to spend a few hours in the air-conditioned clubhouse. Chourio, meanwhile, underwent treatment and additional tests between games.
“The swelling is going to come right now,” said Murphy, who kept Chourio out of the lineup for Game 2. “We’re going to see where he’s at. The trainers are pretty comfortable that it’s not a fracture. It’s a sprain. Whether he needs time or not, he’s a tough kid.”
That was good news for Chourio’s teammates.
“It did not look good, for sure,” Mitchell said. “It’s a sigh of relief, him going back out there on his own power and finishing out that game. I’m glad that he’s all good.”