Jackson Chourio's record-breaking NLDS home run cements status as Brewers' postseason legend

Jackson Chourio is just 22 years old. On Saturday night, he kicked off just his third postseason run. And yet, the young star outfielder has already earned the status of a Milwaukee Brewers' playoff legend.

Facing veteran southpaw Robbie Ray in last night's NLDS opener, the Brewers' offense was quiet through the first two innings. A softly hit line drive off the bat of Christian Yelich was the only baserunner Milwaukee managed through the first two frames of last night's contest. However, thanks to Chourio, that changed in the third inning.

The Brewers were already down two runs, Jacob Misiorowski's pitch count was rising, and the Milwaukee faithful were nervously waiting for their offense to make some noise against San Diego's starter. A broken bat ground ball through the left side off the bat of Garrett Mitchell started the third inning. Joey Ortiz advanced Mitchell to second with a grounder to first base, setting up an RBI chance for Chourio.

However, "Jack Jack" as manager Pat Murphy refers to his talented young outfielder, didn't just drive in Mitchell; he touched home himself after sending a laser into the Brewers' bullpen in left-center, tying the game at two runs apiece and awakening the crowd at American Family Field. The word "laser" is not used lightly -- Chourio's third-inning homer left the bat at an unbelievable 113.3 mph, which, according to MLB.com's brilliant statistician Sarah Langs, is the hardest hit ball of this year's postseason, and the second-hardest hit ball of Jackson Chourio's career.

That said, it wasn't just the exit velocity or the impact that Chourio's two-run shot had on last night's game that made it impressive; it was also the fifth postseason homer of Chourio's young career, which, believe it or not, is a Brewers' franchise record. That's right, last night, 22-year-old Jackson Chourio became the Milwaukee Brewers' franchise record holder for the most postseason home runs, passing Prince Fielder and Orlando Arcia, each of whom has four playoff longballs in a Brewers uniform.

Jackson Chourio grabs Brewers' postseason franchise record with electrifying homer in NLDS opener

Chourio's first two postseason homers came in the same game during his rookie season. In Chourio's first playoff appearance, he crushed two game-tying homers in the Brewers' winner-takes-all Game 3 matchup against the New York Mets in the NL Wild Card Series. Then, last year, Chourio crushed a three-run homer to give the Brewers a four-run lead in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Chicago Cubs, and started Game 2 of the NLCS with a solo shot off Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Now, with a homer last night, Chourio stands alone atop the Brewers' franchise leaderboard for the most home runs in the postseason. He's also just three RBI away from tying Ryan Braun's franchise record of 16 postseason RBI, which is made even more impressive by the fact that Chourio has just 48 playoff at-bats to his name, and Braun has 106.

Chourio, despite his youth and relative inexperience, clearly has a knack for the big moment and should have plenty more opportunities to prove it. His homer last night changed the entire mood at American Family Field and put to bed any concerns fans had about the Brewers coming out rusty after their week off. After the game, when asked about his ability to step up under the brightest lights, Chourio said, via team translator Daniel de Mondesert, "I'm always going to give everything I have. I'm always going to give 100 percent. I like playing in these scenarios. I like playing in these kinds of games."

In Chourio, the Brewers have a postseason legend on their roster for many years to come. Said the 22-year-old budding superstar after last night's victory, when asked about his postseason homers, "I just hope I hit a lot more."

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