3 overlooked moments from the Brewers' electrifying Game 2 victory over Padres

The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the San Diego Padres in Game 2 of the NLDS on Sunday afternoon in improbable fashion. Facing the best closer in the game, Mason Miller, and trailing by one run in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Brewers loaded the bases with three walks before Jackson Chourio, who may already be the greatest postseason performer in franchise history despite being just 22 years old, smacked a two-RBI single up the middle to give his team the victory.

Chourio's hit will go down as one of the most memorable in the history of the franchise. Not only was his team down to their last out, and he himself down to his last strike, but he was facing the flame-throwing Miller, who touched 103.5 mph during the at-bat. The single, and the resulting victory, completely changed the course of the series, which was at risk of being tied and is instead a 2-0 lead in favor of Milwaukee, and negated an uncharacteristically poor defensive performance from the Brewers on Sunday afternoon.

Chourio's heroics not only deserve a great deal of praise, but also continue a trend of the budding superstar stepping up when it matters most. Every team needs a star when the lights shine brightest in October, and in three trips to the playoffs, all Chourio has done is establish himself as the franchise leader in postseason home runs, while consistently coming up clutch in key moments.

However, as incredible as Chourio's final walk-off hit was, it wouldn't have happened without several key plays throughout Sunday's NLDS contest. It takes a team to pull off a postseason win, especially when facing a team as talented and as "in-form" as the Padres. Without these three overlooked moments from Chourio's teammate, Milwaukee's emerging playoff hero wouldn't have added another memorable hit to his growing list of postseason moments.

3 overlooked moments from Brewers' electrifying Game 2 victory over Padres

1. Christian Yelich's perfect-game busting double in the 5th

Michael King, the Padres' ace, looked incredible through the first four innings of Game 2. King, who carved up the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series, during which he didn't allow a hit until the seventh inning, was perfect through the first four innings of Sunday's start against the Brewers. With his pitch count in good shape, and his arsenal looking sharp, the Brewers needed something to throw off King's rhythm. Enter team captain Christian Yelich.

With one out in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Brewers trailing 2-0, and the crowd at American Family Field quieted by nervous energy, Yelich roped a two-out double into the right-field corner that broke up the perfect game and immediately gave his team a scoring threat. Yelich waited back on a well-located, 1-0 changeup and forced King into the stretch for the first time all afternoon. The vibe at Am Fam immediately shifted.

The next batter, and first batter King faced in the stretch, Sal Frelick, whistled a liner over the head of Padres' shortstop Xander Bogaerts, scored Yelich from second, and cut the Padres' lead in half. Before King could earn the first out in the sixth inning, he was pulled from the game, highlighting just how significant the impact of Yelich and Frelick's two-out hits in the fifth truly were.

2. Sal Frelick's outfield assist in the 7th

Frelick didn't just drive in the Brewers' first run of Game 2; he also killed the Padres' momentum with an incredible throw from right field in the seventh inning that resulted in an outfield assist.

The Padres still led 2-1 when Abner Uribe returned to the mound for the seventh inning. A fielding error by third baseman David Hamilton gave San Diego a one-out baserunner -- Fernando Tatis Jr. -- and a two-out walk to Manny Machado advanced that runner into scoring position. With two outs, Ty France grounded a ball through the right side that scored Tatis from second, but Frelick picked up the ball and fired a dart to third base to cut down Machado, who was trying to go from first to third.

Frelick's assist ended the inning and the Padres' scoring threat, kept San Diego's lead at just 3-1, and reduced the momentum that the Padres otherwise would have built from France's RBI single. Given the way the game ended, San Diego scratching across another run in the seventh or the Brewers not carrying momentum into the bottom of the inning when they scored their second run, could have prevented Chourio from ultimately winning the game in the bottom of the ninth.

3. Christian Yelich, Sal Frelick, and Gary Sánchez's walks in the 9th

For Chourio to drive in the game-tying and game-winning runs, there needed to be runners on base, and when facing the dominant Miller, that is no easy task. However, the trio of Yelich, Frelick, and Gary Sánchez each put together incredible at-bats in the bottom of the ninth to set up Chourio for his late-game heroics.

Yelich was second to the plate in the bottom of the ninth after Garrett Mitchell grounded out to shortstop to start the inning. The Brewers' captain worked a five-pitch walk and promptly stole second base during Frelick's at-bat, which immediately followed his own. Frelick put together a six-pitch walk, which was kick-started by an ABS challenge from the Brewers' outfielder that changed a strike to a ball and the course of the at-bat altogether.

With Frelick and Yelich on base, Murphy turned to his bench and sent Andrew Vaughn to the plate to pinch hit. Vaughn sent a shallow fly ball to center field that brought the Brewers down to the final out. Murphy once again turned to a pinch hitter, Sánchez, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Sánchez, being asked to come off the bench and face the most dominant reliever in baseball, put together an incredible at-bat that ended in a six-pitch walk. The walk loaded the bases for Chourio and the rest, as they say, is history.

The performance from the Brewers' bullpen as a whole, which allowed just one unearned run in four innings, deserves a shout-out as well; as does the solid start Logan Henderson logged in his postseason debut. David Hamilton hustling out a slowly hit grounder to second base that ended in an error and a run scored in the seventh was key as well. Together all of those little moments set up what will go down as one of the biggest hits in Brewers' postseason history -- one that will be replayed and relived for years to come, especially if this does end up being the year that Milwaukee goes all the way.

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