LOS ANGELES — Brewers budding superstar Jackson Chourio wasted no time wowing the Dodger Stadium crowd. Chourio crushed the first pitch of Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, a 97.6 mph four-seam center cutter from Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell, for a home run to right-center in Wednesday’s 6-2 victory. He scored the 17th home run on the first pitch of the postseason since pitches began to be counted (1988). Chourio, who also did this in Game 2 of last year’s NLCS, which was a year before Wednesday’s long ball, joined George Springer as the only players with two of those. Snell, who gave up a first-pitch home run to Davis Schneider in last year’s World Series, is the only pitcher to give up two such home runs. With the long ball, Chourio tied four with Shohei Ohtani, Derek Jeter and Jimmy Rollins for the second-most home runs by opening the postseason with three. Kyle Schwarber has five. Every other player in postseason history has combined for just one leadoff home run before turning 23 (Ronald Acuña Jr.). Chourio also surpassed teammate William Contreras for the most postseason home runs (six) by a Brewer; two of them have arrived this October. Chourio’s leadoff home run is also the sixth first-pitch home run on top of the first in a postseason game since pitch counts began (1988), joining Davis Schneider (Game 5 of the 2025 World Series), Chris Young (Game 3 of the 2007 World Series), Marcus Giles (Game 2 of the 2001 World Series), Derek Jeter (Game 4 of the 2000 World Series) and Marquis Grissom (G2 of the 1995 World Series). Chourio’s swing made even more history. He surpassed Schwarber and Hall of Famer Andruw Jones for most postseason home runs and RBIs, respectively, before turning 23. Chourio has 18 RBIs in 19 games, while Jones has 17 RBIs in 45 games. In last year’s NLCS Game 1 matchup against Snell, Chourio went hitless in three at-bats with two strikeouts.
