Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski labors into 5th inning of NLCS opener against Dodgers

The Milwaukee Brewers' top pitcher, Jacob Misiorowski, faced a grueling challenge in the opening game of the NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night. The Cy Young Award frontrunner struggled to make it through the fifth inning, allowing the Dodgers to foul off 21 of Misiorowski's 94 pitches. Mookie Betts reached base on a one-out walk in the fifth inning, limiting Misiorowski to one run and five hits over 4 1/3 innings.

The 24-year-old right-hander threw 44 pitches at or above 100 mph, reaching 104 mph on his first pitch to Freddie Freeman. Misiorowski dominated the regular season, going 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA in 30 starts and striking out 252 batters in 174 2/3 innings. He led the majors with 252 strikeouts and impressed in Game 1 of the division series with 52 of 88 pitches hitting triple digits.

Supporting his performance, three double plays were recorded against the Dodgers, including a clutch ground-out by Kiké Hernández with the bases loaded in the second inning. However, Misiorowski was replaced by DL Hall as the game progressed, leaving the Milwaukee crowd of 42,617 cheering for their ace.