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

MILWAUKEE (AP) — It was a really challenging night for Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski.

The front-runner for the NL Cy Young Award labored just to make it to the fifth inning of the NL Championship Series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night.

Los Angeles fouled off 21 of his 94 pitches by the time his final batter, Mookie Betts, reached on a one-out walk in the fifth. The 24-year-old allowed one run and five hits.

The 6-foot-7 right-hander threw 44 pitches at 100 mph or higher, reaching 104 mph on his initial offering to Freddie Freeman in the first. The Dodgers swung at 27 of his 62 fastballs, fouling off 16 and missing just five.

Misiorowski went 16-5 with a major league-low 1.80 ERA in 30 starts this season while averaging 100.6 mph with his four-seam fastball. He also led the majors with 252 strikeouts in 174 2/3 innings.

He struck out five and walked three in his second start this postseason. He tossed four innings of two-run ball in Milwaukee’s 3-2 win over San Diego in Game 1 of their NL Division Series on Oct. 3, reaching triple digits on 52 of 88 pitches.

Misiorowski was helped by three inning-ending double plays against Los Angeles, including Kiké Hernández’s bouncer to shortstop with the bases loaded in the second.

DL Hall replaced Misiorowski and got Freeman to ground into a double play, delighting the yellow towel-waving crowd of 42,617.

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