Homer-happy Brewers cruise, now 1 win from NLCS

MILWAUKEE -- Andrew Vaughn and Jackson Chourio each deed a three-run homer, William Contreras added a solo changeable and the Milwaukee Brewers bushed the Chicago Cubs 7-3 on Monday nighttime to determination 1 triumph from a travel to the National League Championship Series.

The Brewers person a 2-0 vantage successful the best-of-five Division Series, which shifts to Wrigley Field successful Chicago for Game 3 connected Wednesday. Teams taking a 2-0 pb successful a best-of-five postseason bid person won 80 of 90 times, including 54 sweeps.

Milwaukee is attempting to triumph a postseason bid for the archetypal clip since 2018, erstwhile it reached Game 7 of the NLCS.

Vaughn and Chourio deed the archetypal 2 three-run homers successful Brewers postseason history. Contreras' solo changeable successful the 3rd inning broke a 3-all tie.

Chicago slugger Seiya Suzuki deed a three-run homer of his ain -- a 440-foot changeable to left-center successful the archetypal inning against Aaron Ashby. After coming retired of the bullpen successful 42 of his 43 regular-season appearances, Ashby served arsenic an opener successful this one.

But the Cubs didn't people again. Nick Mears, Jacob Misiorowski, Chad Patrick, Jared Koenig, Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe combined for 7 1/3 innings of shutout alleviation successful which they allowed conscionable 1 hit.

"We didn't enactment capable unit connected them," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. "First 2 innings, we did a bully job. But we had 2 at-bats with runners successful scoring presumption today. That's a motion we're not putting capable unit on. And that's going to adhd up to a batch of zeroes."

Misiorowski came connected successful the 3rd and threw 3 scoreless innings to gain the triumph portion hitting astatine slightest 100 mph connected 31 of his 57 pitches. Each of the rookie's archetypal 8 pitches went astatine slightest 102.6 mph, and helium topped retired astatine 104.3.

While Misiorowski was sizzling, Chicago's Shota Imanaga was fizzling.

Twice successful the archetypal 3 innings, Imanaga retired the archetypal 2 batters earlier moving into occupation that resulted successful a homer. Imanaga has allowed aggregate homers successful six of his past 8 appearances.

Vaughn tied the crippled successful the bottommost of the archetypal with a thrust implicit the left-field partition aft Contreras and Christian Yelich delivered two-out singles. According to MLB, this was the archetypal playoff crippled successful which each squad deed a three-run homer successful the archetypal inning.

Contreras past deed a 411-foot changeable to near with 2 outs successful the third.

Vaughn's first-inning thrust marked the archetypal clip the Brewers had ever deed a three-run homer oregon a expansive slam successful the postseason. They got their 2nd conscionable 3 innings later, erstwhile Chourio connected connected his 419-foot changeable disconnected Daniel Palencia.

Chourio was backmost successful the leadoff spot aft tightness successful his close hamstring caused him to permission successful the 2nd inning ...