ATLANTA -- Jackson Chourio didn’t even see Brewers third-base coach Matt Erickson. Chourio knew he represented the tying run in the ninth inning against one of the best teams in baseball with one of the best closers in baseball on the mound. He knew it would take an absolutely perfect throw to stop him.
"He saved the game right there,” said Braves center fielder Mauricio Dubón. “That was the play of the game.”
There were plenty of contenders for that title. The Brewers were left to wonder what might have been after Andrew Vaughn’s 105.9 mph line-drive double play with two runners aboard in the sixth inning (expected batting average: .760, per Statcast), Christian Yelich’s flyout to White in the left-field corner with a runner on base in the seventh, and Sal Frelick’s bases-loaded comebacker that was knocked down by Braves reliever Robert Suarez to end the eighth. A few inches here or there, and all of those swings could have produced game-changing runs for the visitors.
But the play of the night happened with one out in the ninth. After Braves closer Raisel Iglesias (14-for-14 in save opportunities with a 1.16 ERA, entering Friday) walked Yelich and yielded a double to Chourio, Brewers second baseman Brice Turang singled to White in left.
“I was playing on the line a little bit and he hit it towards the gap,” White said. “So, I was really just trying to cut the distance down and get to the ball quickly.”
He did, and he cut loose a 95.3 mph two-hop throw home that skipped past Braves third baseman Austin Riley. White couldn’t have placed it better, because the baseball found the right spot at the right time to retire a sliding Chourio.
“Thankfully got a good second skip there, and [Baldwin] was able to hold on to it,” White said. “That was huge right there.”
What did Chourio see?
“I didn’t see the replay after,” he said, “but in the moment, live, I thought I got in.”
The phone line from the Brewers’ dugout to their video room was down, but at that stage of the game, Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy didn’t need a second opinion. He challenged, and so the replay room in New York looked at the entirety of the play, including whether Baldwin might have blocked home plate.
The Brewers crossed their fingers, figuring they were due a good break after so many close calls in the preceding innings.
They didn’t get it.
Chourio was out, and when Iglesias struck out William Contreras, the game was over.
“It was a great throw, a great tag, a great catch at the plate,” Murphy said. “Credit those guys for executing that. Chourio had a good turn. It was just a great baseball play on their part. A great comeback for us in the ninth against a really good pitcher. We were kind of snake-bit.”
The pair of first-place teams have two more games remaining in this series to try to top Friday’s opener.
“Today was one of those days where things didn’t necessarily go in our favor, but tomorrow’s a new day,” Chouiro said.