CHICAGO -- Three times in the first four innings, the Brewers spotted their ace a lead. Twice, Jacob Misiorowski let it get away.
But the third time, he held firm, helping Milwaukee tighten its grip on the NL Central.
Facing one of Major League Baseball’s most potent lineups and fighting his command for most of a steamy night at Wrigley Field, Misiorowski buckled down after the Brewers claimed a one-run lead in the top of the fourth and finished a hard-fought, 92-pitch outing with a scoreless inning that propelled Milwaukee toward a 9-5 win over the Cubs.
A second straight come-from-behind victory boosted the Brewers’ lead in the division to nine games with 22 to play, and they also lead the season series against the Cubs, 6-3. Milwaukee would clinch the tiebreaker over the Cubs with a victory in any of the teams’ four remaining head-to-head matchups.
Jackson Chourio finished a triple shy of the cycle on a four-hit night and five relievers pitched a scoreless inning apiece on another terrific night for the Brewers’ bullpen behind Misiorowski, who surrendered five runs on five hits in his four innings, with four walks and five strikeouts in a rare dud amid what has been a brilliant season.
Most of that damage was courtesy of Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman, who tied the game with a two-run homer off Misiorowski in the first inning and then hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the second as the Cubs took a 5-3 lead.
It marked the first time this season that Misiorowski yielded more than three earned runs in an outing. Since 1913, when earned runs became official in both leagues (and excluding openers), Misiorowski’s 25 consecutive starts with three or fewer earned runs tied for the third-longest streak to open a season.
But Brewers hitters had some answers of their own, scoring three times during a fourth-inning rally highlighted by Brice Turang’s successful squeeze bunt.
Back and forth went the division rivals throughout the early innings.
The outing came after Misiorowski took steps to avoid some of the mound trouble he’s experienced at other stops around the league this season, including in his last start Thursday against the Mets on a rainy day in New York. Rather than throw his 20-pitch, between-starts bullpen session under the cover of the right-field bleachers in the bullpen, Misiorowski took the game mound instead.
“It just gives him the feel,” said Brewers pitching coach Chris Hook. “And [the Cubs] were great about it. I think that’s the coolest part.”
Cubs hitters were not so cooperative once Misiorowski took the mound for real on Wednesday night. Chicago’s leadoff man and National League MVP Award candidate, Pete Crow-Armstrong -- who went into the night 0-for-12 with nine strikeouts against Misiorowski in the regular season and postseason -- reached safely against the Brewers' ace for the first time by working a walk. Twice in that plate appearance, after ball three and ball four, Misiorowski kicked at his landing spot on the mound.
Hook said there’s a growing contingent of teams around MLB doing work between starts on the main mound, all in an effort to make practice as close to game conditions as possible. Former Brewers GM Doug Melvin, who loved to brainstorm different ways to develop pitching, used to suggest pitchers throw live batting practice at different intervals of the season while Hook was Milwaukee’s Minor League pitching coordinator.
Misiorowski didn’t face hitters on Monday, but the concept was similar.
“He’s pitched here a few times and he knows [the mound] is solid,” Hook said. “But he just felt like it was something he’d like to do, and [the Cubs] made it happen for him.”