The Milwaukee Brewers will look to bounce back behind hard-throwing right-hander Jacob Misiorowski against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Monday in the opener of a showdown series between the top two teams in the National League Central.
Misiorowski (4-2, 1.89 ERA) is scheduled to oppose left-hander Matthew Liberatore (2-2, 4.70).
The Brewers dropped the final two games at home over the weekend against the Dodgers, including a 5-1 loss on Sunday in the series-decider. Milwaukee managed seven hits in seven innings off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but finished the loss 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.
The Cardinals were rained out Sunday at Cincinnati to remain 1 1/2 games behind the front-running Brewers in the division.
Despite the consecutive losses to the defending champion Dodgers, who swept the Brewers in the NLCS last fall, Milwaukee is 12-4 over its last 16 games and 17-7 over the last 24.
The Brewers and Cardinals split two games in St. Louis in early May with one game rained out.
The 24-year-old Misiorowski, who routinely tops 100 mph, has been almost unhittable this month. He is 3-0 in four starts in May without allowing a run in 24 1/3 innings, striking out 37 over that span with five walks.
Misiorowski leads the NL with 88 strikeouts, two ahead of Philadelphia’s Christopher Sanchez, but in 15 1/3 fewer innings.
He has pitched at least six innings in four of his last five starts and opponents are batting just .160 against him.
Misiorowski picked up the win in his last start, allowing three hits over six scoreless innings in a 5-2 road victory over the Cubs, striking out eight and walking one.
“I don’t know how much more there is to say about ‘Miz,'” Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell said following Misiorowski’s last start. “You get excited when he goes out there on the bump, because you know he’s going to compete. That trickles down to everyone else.”
He is 1-1 with a 3.95 ERA in three career starts against St. Louis with 12 strikeouts and eight walks.
St. Louis is 13-13 at home but 16-9 on the road. The Cardinals are 24-5 when scoring four or more runs.
After Friday’s series finale was postponed, St. Louis pounded out an 8-1 win in the doubleheader opener at Cincinnati on Saturday. After 11 seasons in the minors, 28-year-old Bryan Torres homered and reached base three times in his major league debut.
“These guys are having a good time and he fits right in because he plays the game the right way,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said afterward. “He plays it hard, he’s going to be pesky at the plate, he’s going to take his walks, so having him in the bottom of that lineup makes a lot of sense.”
After winning his first two starts this month, Liberatore has not been as effective in his last two outings, giving up a combined eight runs on 16 hits in 9 2/3 innings.
He allowed four runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings in his last start Tuesday and did not get the decision in a 9-6, 10-inning win over the Pirates.
Liberatore is 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA in 11 career appearances (four starts) versus Milwaukee. He won both his starts against the Brewers last season, allowing three runs (two earned) in 11 innings.
–Field Level Media
