The Milwaukee Brewers' season continues to trend upward following a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers with the help of the fans at home.
When the Milwaukee Brewers found themselves tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-2, in the 10th inning, there was a buzz in the air as home fans anxiously awaited in hopes their team would sweep the series in walk-off fashion.
Center fielder Jackson Chourio stepped up to the plate confident despite having gone 0-4 in his plate appearances.
Moments later, the 21-year-old second-year outfielder would rip a single into left field for the first walk-off of his career as the 33,607 fans in attendance broke into an uproar.
“This guy’s gonna be around a long time, so get his autograph,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said after the 3-2 win.
Chourio was excited to celebrate the achievement of having swept the reigning World Series champs.
“It was a hard-fought game,” Chourio said. “I’m very happy; it was an incredible moment that we were able to finish the sweep with that hit.”
The manager credited Brewers fans for helping the ninth youngest team in the MLB sweep the Dodgers at home for the first time in franchise history.
“The crowd over the past three days really made a difference,” Murphy said. “These young kids, they’ve never really played for a crowd, they sense it like, ‘Wow, there’s a community that’s behind us.'”
It was a sentiment echoed by Chourio.
“One thing Milwaukee definitely has going for us is that the fans love to get on board for the young players,” Chourio said. “It’s been incredible.”
For a young Brewers team that started the season with an 0-4 record and a minus-32 run differential, to now be making franchise history for a positive reason marks an impressive turnaround as the team has continued to discover its identity.
While the season’s turnaround may surprise some spectators, given how things started, the Brewers fan base’s support has helped make it possible for the youngsters to continue their upward trajectory.
Catcher William Contreras, a two-time all-star who’s still young himself at age 27, expressed pride in how his team plays for one another and shared what he believes is its identity.
“We play hard every day,” Contreras said. “That’s how Milwaukee plays, and that’s how we win games.”
After starting the season 2-20 in games where Brewers’ opponents scored first, Milwaukee has won nine of its last 16 games where it began by trailing. This young Brewers squad’s resilience and improvement are evident in the record books, as they have climbed to a 53-40 record.
The kids are getting experience, and if playing hard is truly this team’s identity, then the records have begun to show that playing hard pays off.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers' record climbs as fanbase empowers young star Jackson Chourio
Category: Baseball
