The Milwaukee Brewers earned a trip to the Championship Series with a 3-1 win over the Chicago Cubs in Game 5 of the NLDS. Milwaukee took the first two games of the matchup before the series shifted to Chicago. The Wrigley Field crowd spurred the Cubs to back-to-back wins, forcing a decisive Game 5 in Milwaukee. But the Brewers came out on top with a clutch victory Saturday as the home team won all five games in the Division Series.
Both teams relied on their bullpens in the winner-take-all finale. Trevor Megill got the start for the Brewers. The All-Star closer worked one inning before Jacob Misiorowski took over. The rookie phenom came through with an impressive performance in his second career postseason appearance.
After earning his second playoff victory in two tries, Misiorowski attempted to describe the atmosphere at American Family Field. “It's electric in here. I couldn't ask for anything better,” he said, per MLB Network.
Jacob Misiorowski earns win in Brewers’ NLDS clincher
Misiorowski finished strong but he got off to an inauspicious start. Seiya Suzuki welcomed the first-year flamethrower to the game with a solo home run in the top of the second inning. Suzuki belted a 101 mph Misiorowski fastball 390 feet to right center. The blast tied the game at 1-1.
Despite the setback, Misiorowski managed to make the necessary adjustments and dominated the rest of the way. The 23-year-old All-Star allowed one run on three hits and no walks in four innings. He struck out three batters and hit triple digits on 10 of his 54 pitches.
Andrew Vaughn homered off Colin Rea in the fourth inning, giving the Brewers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Aaron Ashby took over for Misiorowski in the sixth. Then Chad Patrick and Abner Uribe combined to hold the Cubs hitless over the final 3.2 innings. Uribe slammed the door on Chicago, closing out Milwaukee’s 3-1 win.
Misiorowski made postseason history in Game 5. He became just the second rookie to earn a win in each of his first two playoff appearances without starting either game.
The Brewers are heading back to the Championship Series for the first time in seven years. Milwaukee will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in a rematch of the 2018 NLCS. That matchup went the distance with LA winning 4-3 and advancing to the World Series.
