The Milwaukee Brewers will look for a bounce-back start from hard-throwing Jacob Misiorowski on Tuesday night when they play the middle contest of a three-game series against the visiting Chicago Cubs.
Misiorowski (14-5, 1.97 ERA), who will face the Cubs for the fourth time this season, will oppose left-hander David Peterson (7-8, 5.39) in a rematch between last Wednesday’s starters in a game the Brewers won 9-5.
On Monday, Milwaukee rallied with three runs in the eighth inning in the series opener and held on for a 4-3 victory. Jackson Chourio’s two-run single in the eighth put the Brewers in front.
Pete Crow-Armstrong pulled Chicago within 4-3 in the ninth inning with his 41st homer, a two-out solo shot off Trevor Megill. It was the first homer allowed this season by Megill, who had not allowed a run in his previous 15 appearances.
Megill, however, finished for his 19th consecutive save and his 27th in 29 opportunities.
Milwaukee (89-56), seeking its fourth consecutive National League Central title, moved eight games ahead of the second-place Cubs (81-64). The Brewers are 1 1/2 games in front of the Dodgers for the best overall record in the majors.
With the victory, the Brewers improved to 7-4 this season against the Cubs — who hold the NL’s second wild-card spot — and clinched the season series and tiebreaker.
“When you play the best teams in the league, you’ve got to do a lot of things right to beat them,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said after Monday’s loss. “We did a lot of things right, but you’ve got to do almost everything right to beat them. And that’s why it’s a 4-3 game.”
Misiorowski is coming off his least effective start of the season in the game against the Cubs last week in Chicago. The 24-year-old right-hander allowed a season-high five runs on five hits in four innings, along with four walks, and struck out five but did not get a decision as the Brewers rallied for the win.
“He’s going to learn a lesson from this,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said afterward. “He didn’t command his fastball, and he just had to bob and weave. He didn’t have his perfect delivery, and that’s going to be a key going forward.”
Although Misiorowski’s ERA climbed from 1.73 to 1.97 after his last outing, it’s still the best in the majors. He also leads the National League with 227 strikeouts and has limited opponents to a .155 batting average, also tops in the majors.
Misiorowski is 2-1 with a 4.13 ERA in five career starts vs. the Cubs in his two seasons. He is 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA in three games against them this season.
Chourio is hitting .322 (28-for-87) over his last 20 games, with four homers and 12 RBIs.
Peterson will face the Brewers for the third time since being acquired from the Mets in late June. He took the loss in last Wednesday’s game against Misiorowski, allowing six runs on seven hits with four walks in 3 2/3 innings.
Peterson was 3-6 with a 6.09 ERA in 16 games with the Mets, including eight starts, but is 4-2 with a 4.58 ERA in 12 games (11 starts) with the Cubs.
He is 4-2 with a 4.54 ERA in eight career games (seven starts) against the Brewers.
–Field Level Media
