Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers overpower Cubs, grab 2-0 series lead

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MILWAUKEE — Hard-throwing rookie Jacob Misiorowski, a All-Star this summer after making just five major league starts, lost his way in the second half of the regular season.

He regained his form in a big way on Monday in his postseason debut, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 7-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs for a 2-0 lead in the National League Division Series.

Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn each belted a three-run homer to rally the Brewers, who trailed 3-0 after a half-inning. Milwaukee’s William Contreras hit a go-ahead solo shot.

Misiorowski (1-0) got the win with three innings of scoreless relief. He allowed one hit and walked two, striking out four of the 12 batters he faced.

The 23-year-old right-hander was the second of six Brewers relievers who combined to throw 7 1/3 scoreless innings of one-hit ball.

“He was one of the keys to the game, and there was a lot of them.” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “This game was in a lot of different parts, but Miz stepped up. You guys get all enthralled with mph. I’m enthralled that he wasn’t giving up free bases, kept his composure with runners and that type of thing.”

Misiorowski hit 100 mph or more with 31 of his 57 pitches, reaching 104.3. It was an impressive display after he went 1-2 with a 5.36 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) following the All-Star break.

“I honestly don’t know,” said Misiorowski, when asked what it was like to throw 104 mph. “I wasn’t really feeling anything. There was so much adrenaline, and I wasn’t really feeling anything. I was just kind of doing it.”

Chourio did the job after entering the day questionable due to a hamstring issue that forced him out of Game 1. He put the Brewers in front 7-3 with a two-out shot to center off Daniel Palencia in the fourth inning. Caleb Durbin, who was hit by a pitch an NL-high 24 times during the regular season, was plunked with one out and Joey Ortiz singled with two outs.

“We made a couple mistakes with multiple runners on base, and after getting off to a great start, those mistakes with two three-run homers,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “You’re not going to win playoff games giving up two three-run homers. That was just too much to overcome.”

After the teams exchanged three-run blasts in the first inning, Contreras put the Brewers up 4-3 with a two-out solo homer in the third off starter Shota Imanaga (0-1).

“If you have different ways to win, if you just rely on one thing, it’s harder to win,” Murphy said. “I’m really pleased we did. Vaughn’s home run and then Contreras and Chourio’s homers was the difference in the game. But you don’t see that from the Brewers very often. But it was great it did (happen).”

The Cubs felt great after the top of the first inning. Nico Hoerner singled with one out before Kyle Tucker walked. Seiya Suzuki then crushed a 1-1 pitch from Milwaukee spot starter Aaron Ashby 440 feet to left to make it 3-0.

The Brewers answered in the bottom half, all after two outs. Contreras and Christian Yelich had back-to-back singles and Vaughn sent a 3-2 pitch over the wall in left for his first homer since Aug. 15.

“We had one hit after the second inning. That’s going to add up to a lot of zeros, and that’s what happened the last seven or eight innings,” Counsell said. “We’ve got to find a way to just create more pressure, and that’s baserunners, hits, walks.”

Game 3 of the best-of-five series is scheduled for Wednesday in Chicago.

Milwaukee, which won the NLDS opener 9-3 on Saturday, finished five games ahead of the Cubs in the division during the regular season with a franchise-record 97 victories. The Brewers have the No. 1 overall seed and home-field advantage for the entire postseason.

The Brewers are in the playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons but have not won a playoff series since the 2018 NLDS.

–Jim Hoehn, Field Level Media