Jackson Chourio shined bright in his season debut with four hits, including two doubles and a walk. Unfortunately for the young superstar, the rest of the Brewers lineup could not come through with the clutch hit when needed most, stranding 12 runners on base. Most painfully, the crew had the tying run up to the plate in the top of the sixth and seventh innings.
We were able to see Chourio right out of the gate in the top of the first inning. He watched the first couple of pitches in his at-bat and then on his first swing of the 2026 season, he doubled to left-center field, ultimately being stranded at second base to end the inning.
St. Louis flocked to the base paths early and often against the Brewers starter Chad Patrick, as they had at least two runners on in the first three innings. In the bottom of the second inning, former top prospect for the Cardinals, JJ Wetherholt, put his team on top early with a base hit into center field to give them a 1-0 lead.
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Patrick struggled to string together consistent outs, as the Cardinals were patient at the plate. In the bottom of the fourth inning, the patience paid off as Iván Herrera doubled with the bases loaded to extend the Cards’ lead to 4-0. That would be the end of the day for Patrick, as for the first time in his career, he was pulled before completing the fourth inning of a start.
Thankfully for the Brewers, their bullpen was well rested, only having used two arms the day prior. DL Hall would enter from the bullpen, where he settled in and threw an inning and a third and struck out a pair.
The bottom of the fourth inning featured a scary moment for Andrew Vaughn and Brewers fans alike, as in his return to the diamond, he was hit in the hand. The same hand that he broke his hamate bone, which landed him on the IL. Thankfully, he was able to shake it off and take first base.
Historically, Cardinals right-hander Kyle Leahy has always pitched well against the Brewers. Although most of his starts have come in bullpen appearances, as in eight and a third innings that he has pitched in, seven of those have been scoreless innings. Tonight, it was more of the same for Leahy as he threw five and a third innings, allowing just one run and striking out five. The Brewers were able to collect six hits, but clutch pitching prevented them from having any big innings.
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It took until the top of the sixth inning for the Crew to crack the scoring column, as Luis Rengifo singled to left field to drive in the team’s first run of the ballgame. Following that RBI base hit, the Brewers would have the tying run at the plate in two of the next three innings, unable to score any runs.
St. Louis tacked on a couple of big insurance runs in the later innings, and it proved to be big as the Brewers’ offense came to life in the top of the ninth inning. Chourio collected his fourth hit of the game with one out, doubling to center field, while tying his career high for hits in a game at four. Brice Turang then came through with a two-run home run to cut their deficit down to just three.
Following the long ball, William Contreras singled. Then, another scary moment for the Brewers’ lineup took place. Tyler Black hit a ground ball where he beat out the return throw to avoid the double-play. As he crossed first base, he tripped and hit the ground hard. Slow to get up, he was able to stay in the game and run the bases.
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Brewers dropped game one by a score of 6-3, but coming up with hits while having runners on continues to be a weak point for this offense. But the bright side of things, the Crew have Chourio and Vaughn back. We already saw what the addition to Chourio has done, and his productivity has historically spread among the others in the lineup. This team is getting healthier, and a better offense is soon to come.
The Brewers will look to build on top of Chourio’s success and even up the series tomorrow night against the second-best team in the National League Central. First pitch is 6:45 p.m.
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