Jackson Chourio's grand slam, the Brewers' third in four games, helps lift Milwaukee to win over rival Cubs
Jackson Chourio's grand slam, the Brewers' third in four games, helps lift Milwaukee to win over rival Cubs
Milwaukee Brewers rookie phenom Jackson Chourio struck a mighty blow against the visiting Chicago Cubs in Friday night's eventual win (MIL 4, CHC 2). Indeed, it was the mightiest blow possible, as Chourio in the fourth inning cracked his first career grand slam at the expense of a Jameson Taillon sweeper.
Here's the action-sports footage of note:
That's Chourio's ninth homer of the season (and of his MLB career). This one left the bat at 98.4 mph and traveled 377 feet into left field. As the above bit of social media notes, this was the Brewers' third grand slam of the week. Jake Bauers hit one on Wednesday against the Rangers, and Rhys Hoskins got things started on Monday with a grand slam of his own against Texas. Overall, it's Milwaukee's fifth grand slam of the season.
As for the 20-year-old Chourio, he now has a slash line of .241/.286/.390 or the season. It might be tempting to consider those disappointing numbers, but context is necessary. As noted, he's just 20, which means he's much, much younger than his big-league peer group.
More so, Chourio had just six games of experience above the Double-A level coming into 2024, so he's been aggressively promoted. The Brewers, a heady organization, believed in Chourio to the extent that they signed him to an eight-year, $82 million extension before he'd played a single game in the bigs. That requires a significant tolerance for risk, especially when you occupy MLB's smallest market. Chourio has star-level skills, and he's already shown flashes of them, including Friday night's blast.
Chourio and the Brewers continue to keep first place in the National League Central on lockdown. That's despite major losses in the rotation and the departures of Craig Counsell and David Stearns. Consider what's happened in Milwaukee to be one of the pleasant surprises of 2024 thus far.