Jackson Chourio gave the Brewers an instant jolt at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, turning Blake Snell’s opening offering of National League Championship Series Game 3 into a drive over the right-center-field wall. The pitch was a 97.6 mph, middle-of-the-plate fastball, and Chourio did not let it survive the first swing of the night.
A first-pitch mark with rare company
The shot was the 17th postseason leadoff homer hit on the first pitch since pitch tracking began in 1988. It was also Chourio’s second such blast in an NLCS game, following his first-pitch homer in Game 2 of last year’s series — exactly one year before this one.
- Chourio and George Springer are the only players with two first-pitch leadoff home runs in postseason play.
- Snell became the only pitcher to allow two postseason homers on the first pitch of a game. Davis Schneider did it against him in last year’s World Series.
- Chourio’s drive was the sixth recorded first-pitch homer in the top of the first inning of a postseason contest since 1988.
The other five in that particular group are Schneider in Game 5 of the 2025 World Series, Chris Young in Game 3 of the 2007 NL Division Series, Marcus Giles in Game 2 of the 2001 NLCS, Derek Jeter in Game 4 of the 2000 World Series, and Marquis Grissom in Game 2 of the 1995 NLDS.
Chourio climbs the Brewers’ October board
That first-inning swing brought Chourio’s career postseason home-run total to six, passing teammate William Contreras for the most in Brewers history. Two of those six have come this October.
He also moved into a tie for the second-most postseason leadoff homers, joining Shohei Ohtani, Jeter and Jimmy Rollins with three. Kyle Schwarber stands alone at the top with five.
Another youth record falls
Chourio’s homer carried a run batted in, pushing him past Hall of Famer Andruw Jones for the most postseason RBIs recorded before a player’s 23rd birthday. Chourio now has 18 RBIs across 19 playoff games; Jones had 17 in 45 games.
It was a sharp reversal from Chourio’s previous NLCS meeting with Snell. In Game 1 of last year’s series, the Brewers outfielder went 0-for-3 and struck out twice against the Dodgers left-hander. This time, there was no buildup and no second look required — just one fastball, one swing, and another October entry for Chourio.
