Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio leaves game against Cubs with hamstring spasm

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jackson Chourio said he felt fine after a right hamstring spasm caused him to leave in the fifth inning of the Milwaukee Brewers’ 9-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.

“My leg’s a touch tight, but I feel good,” the outfielder said through an interpreter.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy remained cautious about Chourio’s outlook after the 21-year-old got hurt while running the bases on a triple.

“Let’s wait and see,” Murphy said. “Let’s not speculate there.”

Chourio appeared to slow up a bit on his way from second to third after leading off the fifth with a shot off the wall in right-center field.

As head athletic trainer Brad Epstein and Murphy went to third base to check on him, Chourio put his hand on the back of his right leg.

“I think it happened a little bit when I accelerated a touch there to try and get the extra base,” Chourio said. “I think it was after second there, along the way from when I saw it hit the wall and accelerated a little bit to try to get to third.”

He was replaced by pinch-runner Blake Perkins, who scored on William Contreras’ double off the left-field wall for the first of the Brewers’ three runs in that inning.

Chourio has played a major role in Milwaukee’s surge over the last month. The Brewers have won 15 of their last 18 games to improve to a major league-leading 64-43.

One night after his 20-game hitting streak ended, Chourio went 2 for 3 and scored a run before exiting.

Chourio is hitting .276 with a .311 on-base percentage, .474 slugging percentage, 17 homers, 67 RBIs and 18 steals in 106 games. He has reached base in each of his last 22 games and is batting .388 with a .430 on-base percentage, .635 slugging percentage and 17 RBIs during that stretch.

He’s following the same pattern as last season, when he also came on strong in the second half to finish third in NL Rookie of the Year balloting.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB