Reporting by Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Jacob Misiorowski on the mound, managing to shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates over five innings despite not having his best stuff. Rookie Luis Lara driving in the game’s first run with a sacrifice fly and then doubling in another in the decisive four-run sixth.
Scoring a run on a wild pitch. Joey Ortiz, back from the baseball dead, singling in two more.
And of course, no home runs.
But don’t forget the defense and intangibles which have become hallmarks along the way in a magical season that was capped (so far) by a 5-1 victory at PNC Park that made the Brewers the first team to win four consecutive National League Central titles since its inception in 1994 (not to mention five of six and six of nine).
It all became official just under an hour later after the Atlanta Braves dispatched the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, 6-3, with the champagne bottles popped, beer cans cracked and victory cigars lit with Milwaukee (94-57) celebrating the accomplishment in a visiting clubhouse for a second straight year.
“It wasn’t bad, to be honest with you,” manager Pat Murphy said of the wait. “Whatever was going to happen, we were going to do this inevitably. We’ve got 11 games to go and those are important, too; there’s a lot of things to tighten up.
“It’s just gratifying to see the guys know what they’ve achieved. It’s never been done four years in a row and there’s guys in the room who have done it four years in a row and I’m just happy for them.
“This ’26 club, there hasn’t been a spot where you say, ‘Wow, we’re really special.’ But it’s starting to grow on me a little. The fact that they won the big one when they had to. They knew that coming here. We haven’t won here very much, and to come in here and win like that was great.
“I’m just proud of the guys. I’m happy for them.”
Much like the season, the night was mostly dominated by Misiorowski, who came out firing heat with a 103.8-mph fastball his high-water mark as he struck out the Pirates on 12 pitches in the first inning.
Lara’s sacrifice fly in the second gave Misiorowski an early lead but Pittsburgh then made him work for it as he needed 27 pitches to get through the bottom of that frame and 16 in the third before escaping a major jam in the fourth.
With one out, the Pirates went single-single-single to load the bases only to see Nick Gonzales fail to score from third on a single by Rafael Flores Jr. that trickled into short left field.
Jackson Chourio, to his credit, was Johnny on the spot and quickly got the ball into second baseman Brice Turang, who then tagged Ryan O’Hearn out in a rundown between second and third.
A flyout to left on the next pitch ended the threat and left Pittsburgh fans booing mercilessly.
Misiorowski had thrown 82 pitches through five innings when the offense put up its four-spot against a pair of Pirates relievers and with some decent breathing room, Murphy felt comfortable calling it a night for his ace and handing the ball to Aaron Ashby.
Misiorowski allowed five hits and a walk in improving to 15-5, and his seven strikeouts moved him into a second-place tie with Corbin Burnes for most in a single season in franchise history with 243.
“It makes sense,” said Murphy of starting Misiorowski in such a pivotal game. “He was great again tonight. He’s just matured so much, and that’s another thing that’s so gratifying, is seeing these young people step into a new way of doing things. He got stronger, he’s way more mature, got really consistent and he’s still learning.
“He’s been great and a huge part. And not to be outdone by (Logan) Henderson, really, because Henderson has been just a consistent. (Kyle) Harrison for a long time, (Shane) Drohan for a long time. (Robert) Gasser now has been consistent, and that’s what we’re looking for.”
How did Misiorowski sum up the outing?
“Honestly, it wasn’t my best,” he said. “Got the job done. Had a hell of a defense behind me and the boys were making plays.
“All I could ask for.”
There will be bigger games ahead for Misiorowski in the weeks to come with the Brewers’ postseason hopes riding squarely on his shoulders. But to this point, Tuesday night’s clinch was the biggest moment yet for a 24-year-old who’s shown a propensity for delivering over his first two years when the lights have been at their brightest.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s what you pray for and hope for as a baseball player. That’s the whole goal in every game that leads up to it.”
With likely one start left in the regular season, Misiorowski sports a 1.89 ERA and WHIP of 0.81 while limiting opposing hitters to a collective .160 average – numbers that should be plenty good to earn him his first NL Cy Young Award.
And while his dominance has been one of the season-long storylines for the Brewers, the team has moreso been a sum of its parts.
A team, if you will.
Jake Bauers delivering a career year. Jackson Chourio taking the next step despite missing the first six weeks with a broken left hand. Garrett Mitchell remaining healthy and available all season and delivering on his immense promise.
Ortiz battling back. Lara and fellow youngster Cooper Pratt earning their stripes as the first part of the next wave of impact talent from baseball’s top minor-league system. Brice Turang cementing himself as arguably the game’s best all-around second baseman.
“That’s awesome, to see Joey Ortiz come out and play like that,” Murphy said. “We’re not surprised about Chourio because Chourio is a budding star. But Turang, he’s just getting better and better. He’s a baseball rat and he loves it. And to have guys like Garrett, it’s been really fun to watch.”
And then there’s the young starting pitching aside from Misiorowski, along with a tremendously talented and versatile bullpen anchored by Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby.
“The youth of the club is amazing when you look at the starting pitching,” Murphy said. “Mitchell hadn’t played so long. And Lara and Pratt and Chourio – you’re just looking at youth and the way they play and the expectations that they’ve had and the standards that they’ve set for themselves to play a certain way.
“It’s never easy doing this. These guys have got high hopes and they’re not putting limits on themselves. I’m not saying we’re the greatest club out there, but we’re pretty special.”
As Murphy mentioned there is more to accomplish, such as finishing with the best record in baseball and the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs that comes with it, not to mention a crack at 100 wins for the first time in franchise history (a 6-5 finish would do it).
But there have been plenty of seminal moments along the way, which Murphy tried his best to summarize during a brief media session in the midst of all the mayhem.
“First time going to Chicago (May 18-20, a three-game sweep of the Cubs) we kind of strolled in there and played well for three straight days and people started turning their heads like, ‘Wait a minute, maybe these guys aren’t so young. Maybe this pitching will hold up,’” Murphy said.
“A couple other moments that come to mind are against the Cubs a couple weeks ago (Milwaukee went 5-2 in the teams’ home-and-home series to essentially salt the Central away). The Yankees series, if you think back to that (a Brewers sweep at American Family Field June 8-10). But I think if I was to pick one moment, we get swept by the Padres in San Diego (Aug. 10-12) and all three games could have went our way but everything we did backfired.
“Then we go to L.A. (Aug. 13-16) We don’t have Turang. We played (Andrew) Vaughn at third base. We played Gary Sánchez at first base. We played Johnny Ornelas at second base and we beat the Dodgers three out of four. That, to me, was a pivotal moment. ‘Hey, there’s something special about this group.’
“Those are the moments I think of offhand.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers make history with fourth straight Central Division title
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