Dave Roberts didn’t hold back after watching Jacob Misiorowski carve up the Dodgers on Saturday night.
The Los Angeles manager called the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander something special after Misiorowski powered Milwaukee to a 4-1 win at Dodger Stadium, and the numbers backed up the praise. The 24-year-old worked six innings, allowed five hits and one run, walked one and struck out five. He moved to 12-5 and trimmed his ERA to 1.75.
The first impression was impossible to miss. Misiorowski opened the game by firing six straight fastballs to Shohei Ohtani, with the Dodger Stadium scoreboard flashing 104, 104, 104, 103, 104 and 104 mph. Ohtani ended up popping out to third base.
“I've never seen the first [three] pitches of a game 104,” Roberts said.
Misiorowski wasn’t just overpowering at the start. He also worked out of a huge jam in the fifth, when Los Angeles loaded the bases. He responded by striking out Ohtani and Freddie Freeman back-to-back, keeping the Dodgers from adding to their total.
By the time the Brewers finally got him out of the game after six innings, they had already done enough damage. Milwaukee was up 4-1, thanks in large part to two-run homers from Joey Ortiz and William Contreras.
Ortiz gave the Brewers the lead in the second with a 373-foot shot to left. It was his third straight game with an RBI, and he finished 5-for-13 over a four-game hitting streak. Contreras followed with his 12th home run of the season in the fourth, going 2-for-4 after starting the Southern California trip hitless in his first 15 at-bats.
The Dodgers’ only run came on a two-out RBI triple from Ohtani in the third.
Aaron Ashby closed it out for Milwaukee, picking up his first save of the season after two runners reached and he struck out Alex Call.
In Other News...
Brice Turang Just Gave Brewers Fans Reason To Exhale
Jacob Misiorowski kept the Brewers rolling with another strong outing, working six innings and allowing one run as Milwaukee knocked off the Dodgers 4-1. The bigger takeaway for the Brewers, though, came before first pitch, when Brice Turang continued moving in the right direction after his knee injury. He did not play, but he was out for pregame work and remained around the team as Milwaukee checked another important box in a season where every healthy regular matters.
Pat Murphy and reports around the club both pointed to encouraging progress, and the early read is that Turang should be able to avoid a stint on the Injured List. For a Brewers lineup that leans heavily on his steadiness at second base, that is the kind of update that can quiet a worried dugout, even if his return date is still something the club will handle carefully. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Could Put Several Young Contributors On The Trade Block
The Brewers are already staring at an offseason that could require some hard roster math, with several young contributors drawing attention as potential trade candidates if Milwaukee decides to use the winter to reshape the roster. Grant Anderson, Aaron Ashby, Joey Ortiz and Garrett Mitchell are among the names being discussed, a reminder that this front office has never shied away from dealing from areas of depth when it thinks a move can bring back prospects or create more payroll flexibility.
What makes the situation worth watching is that it is not tied to a single October outcome. Milwaukees planning appears headed in the same direction regardless of how the postseason unfolds, and that leaves a few recent pieces of the roster in a more uncertain spot than their age or upside might suggest. For a team that has long balanced contention with constant turnover, the question now is which young players fit the next version of the Brewers and which ones might be used to help build it. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Missed On Tarik Skubal But Logan Henderson Just Raised The Stakes
The Brewers spent the trade deadline working on a Tarik Skubal deal, but the chase ended with Detroit sending the left-hander to the Dodgers instead. It was the kind of near miss that lingers around a contender, especially when the player at the center of it is one of the most sought-after arms in the market. Skubal has already made two starts for Los Angeles since the trade, and the Brewers are left to watch from afar as the move that got away starts to take shape.
Logan Henderson has become part of the story too, offering his thoughts on the upcoming matchup with Skubal after being mentioned as a pitcher Milwaukee viewed as a key piece of its long-term picture. The Brewers are always balancing the present against the future, and the Skubal pursuit showed how aggressive they were willing to be without crossing every line. Hendersons comments only add another layer to the situation, because the trade that never happened now sits beside a young arm trying to establish just how high his own value really is. [Read more 🡒]