What do you get when you cross a two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner with the pitcher who is a shoo-in to win it in the National League this year?
You get what’s shaping up to be pretty much the best pitching matchup you could ask for in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series.
While neither club has officially announced their pitching plans for Sunday’s series opener, the Brewers and Dodgers are each in prime position to get their aces -- Jacob Misiorowski and Tarik Skubal -- on the mound. Both teams clinched their spot in the NLCS on Thursday, the Brewers with a 3-1 win over the Padres and the Dodgers with a 4-1 win over the Braves.
Misiorowski pitched just once in the series, throwing four innings of two-run ball in Game 1. Similarly, Skubal opened things against the Braves, going six innings with just one run allowed, and did not pitch again. Both should be well-rested.
The most realistic argument against a Skubal-Misiorowski duel lies in October superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but the Dodgers righty pitched in Game 3 of the NLDS on Tuesday, meaning he’d start Sunday on just four days’ rest. Him pitching in Game 2 on Monday with a regular recovery would make more sense.
We’ve seen great pitching in the 2026 postseason thus far and several marquee matchups: Cam Schlittler vs. Payton Tolle; Chris Sale vs. Jesús Luzardo; Max Fried vs. Sonny Gray; Gerrit Cole vs. Drew Rasmussen; Yamamoto vs. Sale.
If it happens, Skubal vs. Misiorowski will take the cake.
After some struggles late in the regular season, Misiorowski pitched behind an opener when he made his postseason debut a year ago, but he was effective in three appearances. He allowed only one run across seven innings in the NLDS against the Cubs, before striking out nine and yielding just one run in five innings against the Dodgers in the NLCS.
But this is not the same Miz in 2026. The flame-throwing 24-year-old finished the regular season with MLB bests in ERA (1.80), strikeouts (252), WHIP (0.80) and opponents’ batting average (.157). It was more than a breakout -- it was among the greatest pitching seasons in MLB history.
Misiorowski’s four-seam fastball topped out at 104.8 mph and averaged 101.2 mph against the Padres in the NLDS. With the adrenaline that is sure to be present on Sunday, who knows what eye-popping numbers he could put up.
As for Skubal, he won’t win a third consecutive Cy Young. But that won’t take away from the 2.72 ERA he posted in 26 starts, including a 2.61 mark after his blockbuster trade to the Dodgers. Remember, too, that Skubal missed 44 days in the summer after he needed surgery to remove loose bodies in his left elbow. There have been few signs of rust from that recovery.
Skubal’s strong playoff debut with the Dodgers was just more of what we’re used to from the southpaw. He made six postseason starts as a Tiger in 2024 and 2025 with a 2.04 ERA, never going shorter than six innings and allowing more than two runs just once.
The Brewers and Dodgers will already provide appointment viewing throughout the NLCS, a rematch of the 2025 NL pennant battle and a meeting of MLB’s top regular-season teams in 2026. Add in the potential bout of Misiorowski and Skubal in Game 1, and this series should get off to an awfully hot start.