MILWAUKEE — Jackson Chourio went 3 for 3 and drove in three runs in the first two innings before departing with a hamstring injury as the Milwaukee Brewers trounced the Chicago Cubs 9-3 in their NL Division Series opener Saturday.
Chourio became the first player to have three hits in the first two innings of a playoff game. But his availability for Monday’s Game 2 in the best-of-five series is unclear.
Chourio, who missed a month of the regular season with a strained right hamstring, left with tightness in that hamstring after beating out a bases-loaded infield single.
That’s just about the only thing that went wrong for the Brewers, who grabbed a 9-1 lead in the first two innings in a matchup of NL Central rivals.
Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta worked 52/3 innings, and the only runs he allowed came on homers from Michael Busch and Ian Happ. Nico Hoerner added a solo shot off Jared Koenig in the eighth inning.
Peralta’s nine strikeouts tied Don Sutton, Yovani Gallardo and Brandon Woodruff for the Brewers’ single-game playoff record.
Blue Jays 10, Yankees 1
TORONTO — Alejandro Kirk hit two solo home runs, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also connected and the Toronto Blue Jays won a postseason game for the first time since 2016 by thumping the New York Yankees 10-1 in Game 1 of their AL Division Series.
Nathan Lukes had two hits, three RBIs and a diving catch, and Andrés Giménez added two hits and drove in a pair as the AL East champion Blue Jays used 14 hits to snap a seven-game playoff losing streak.
Toronto’s previous postseason win came in Game 4 of the 2016 American League Championship Series against Cleveland. The Blue Jays lost that series in five games.
Kevin Gausman (1-0) allowed one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings for the win. He walked two and struck out three.
Guerrero went 3 for 4 with two RBIs.
Braves
ATLANTA — Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said he hopes to move quickly as he begins his search for a successor to Brian Snitker as manager but that he has not conducted any interviews.
Snitker, 69, announced Wednesday he won’t return after 10 seasons as the Braves’ manager.
Even though Snitker’s decision wasn’t a surprise, Anthopoulos insisted he wasn’t going to begin compiling a list of candidates before giving the manager time to finalize his plans.
When asked what the Braves would have done if Snitker wanted to return for the 2026 season, Anthopoulos said: “He would have been back. That’s why we were going to wait and give him the time he needed.”
Anthopoulos insisted “we do not currently have a list” and said “I wanted to get some things done internally” before beginning his search.
“I will now turn my attention to the manager,” Anthopoulos said. “… We have not spoken with anybody.”
Snitker led the Braves to the 2021 World Series championship as the highlight of almost a half-century with the organization. He will remain in an advisory role and will be inducted into the team’s hall of fame next season.
Phillies
PHILADELPHIA — Phillies slugger Bryce Harper added to his family lineup when he and his wife, Kayla, welcomed the birth of their fourth child days ahead of Saturday’s playoff opener.
The Harpers shared a joint Instagram post announcing their fourth child, Hayes Three Harper. The Harpers said their son was born Thursday.
“Decided to add more chaos to Red October,” the Harpers captioned the photo.
