Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski uses more than fastball to hold Shohei Ohtani and Dodgers at bay

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A dominant fastball has made Jacob Misiorowski one of the most exciting pitchers in baseball over the past two seasons, but it was an effective slider that helped him get out of a bases-loaded jam by striking out Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman in the Milwaukee Brewers' 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.

“He’s understanding how his breaking stuff moves and what he can do with it on any particular day,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.

Misiorowski allowed one run on five hits in six innings, needing an expanded arsenal of pitches to get out of the fifth unscathed after the bottom of the Dodgers' order had three consecutive singles to bring up Ohtani with one out. The two superstars had already faced off twice, with Misiorowski throwing six straight fastballs over 102 mph to retire him on a popup leading off the game.

Misiorowski needed three pitches to fan Ohtani, and only one was a fastball. Instead, catcher William Contreras called for a curveball and slider to bookend that 102.4 mph heater.

“William took control and saw something, and we readjusted,” said Misiorowski, who improved to 12-5 while lowering his ERA to 1.75 with his 13th start this season allowing one or zero runs.

Misiorowski carried over the momentum to get Freeman swinging on five pitches, executing another slider to end the inning.

“I was trying to throw sliders down to get Shohei to bounce something, but, no, I got swings and misses. Kind of took that same approach into the Freddie Freeman at-bat, and was trying to get the same outcome, and it worked out,” Misiorowski said.

For Murphy, a growing repertoire of pitches is another indication of the 24-year-old Misiorowski's development.

“Proved to everyone out there thinking, like, ‘Hey, this guy can pitch. Is he just a heater?’ He executed pitches,” Murphy said.

Ohtani drove in the Dodgers' only run with a triple in the third inning, sending a choppy ground ball bouncing over first baseman Gary Sánchez into the right-field corner, but Murphy refused to call it a mistake by Misiorowski.

“You want Ohtani to hit one into the ground, you know what I mean?” Murphy said.

Misiorowski relished the challenge of facing Ohtani at Dodger Stadium for a national TV audience again, having done so in Game 3 of the NL Championship Series last October. He took the loss in a 3-1 defeat after allowing one run in five innings as the Dodgers went on to sweep the Brewers before claiming a second straight World Series title.

“That was fun. Being in the postseason, it was a different animal,” Misiorowski said. “Just gave me more confidence going into this year.”

It would not be a surprise if the Dodgers and Brewers meet up again this fall. Milwaukee is assured to come out of the four-game series with a better record that Los Angeles by having won two of the first three in the showdown of division leaders, a crucial result as they jockey for home-field advantage.

Having seen Misiorowski rise to the occasion on an August afternoon, Murphy expects his burgeoning ace will be ready should the teams face off again with greater stakes.

“Miz is very, very capable, and he's mentally ready for these challenges,” Murphy said.

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