SAN DIEGO -- Jacob Misiorowski said he was warmed up and ready to go.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy said it was one big deke.
And the bullpen catcher, Ty Duvall, was just happy he came through it unscathed.
“The bullpen is a little dark out there,” Duvall said. “The ball was getting on me pretty quick.”
We’ll never know exactly the situation that would have brought Misiorowski into Game 4 of the National League Division Series, because while he was warming up during the ninth inning on Wednesday night, closer Trevor Megill was breezing through the final three outs of the Brewers’ 3-1 win over the Padres at Petco Park, clinching the series and a date with the Dodgers in the NLCS for the second straight year.
Consider it a tuneup for Misiorowski’s start in NLCS Game 1 on Sunday.
“I throw one ball and they get him up?” asked Megill, who didn’t even see Misiorowski out on the bullpen mound. “I mean, if he got a bullpen in to keep himself fresh, then good for him.”
It’s not exactly an all-hands-on-deck situation going into the day for the Brewers, who remained in the driver’s seat after dropping Game 3 on Tuesday night. But there was a scenario in which the Brewers would have used Misiorowski in relief in an effort to close out the series, and still have him available to start a Game 5 on Friday night in Milwaukee if things had gone south.
“He’s turned on,” said pitching coach Chris Hook. “He's ready to go.”
The Marlins used a similar strategy with their ace, Sandy Alcantara, down the stretch of the regular season. Alcantara logged three saves while pitching on what traditionally would have been his throwing day between starts.
“It won't be just because,” Murphy said of the possibility of Misiorowski in relief. “We've got to be smart about it and look at the situation. But I think our pitching is in good shape.”
The Brewers had Megill and setup man Aaron Ashby rested after neither pitched in Game 3 – and wound up using them to cover four innings. They also went into Game 4 with plenty of length behind starter Robert Gasser, since multi-inning lefties Shane Drohan and Kyle Harrison had yet to pitch in the NLDS.
The role to watch for was right-handed setup. Abner Uribe pitched in each of the first three games of the series, and an outing in Game 4 would represent a fourth appearance in five days. Right-hander Antonio Senzatela also pitched in Game 3 and threw 14 pitches. The Brewers opted to go for it with Uribe, who endured a big scare in a scoreless eighth when center fielder Garrett Mitchell robbed Manny Machado of what could have been a tying, two-run home run.
All the while, Misiorowski managed along from a bench in the bullpen.
“I thought it was going to be late innings, if they needed me for a couple of outs,” Misiorowski said. “And we got in that situation.”
It would not have been Misiorowski’s first time pitching out of the bullpen in the postseason. He made three relief appearances against the Cubs and Dodgers last year, and used that success as a slingshot into his breakout 2026 season as a starter.
Out in the bullpen, Duvall sensed Misiorowski had the juices flowing.
“He was probably throwing 110 mph,” Duvall said. “I could tell he was 100 percent ready for the moment. You know Miz. He’s Secretariat. It doesn’t take too long for him to get going. Three pitches in, he’s throwing 110 miles an hour.”
Secretariat?
As in the Triple Crown-winning racehorse?
“I’ve been trying to get that nickname going,” Duvall said. “I personally loved Secretariat growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio. It’s not too far from my hometown. I think he’s the perfect horse for it. He’s incredible. I don’t know if we’ll ever see anything like him, but he’s incredible.”
And he will be well-rested and ready for the Dodgers.
“It was sick for the bullpen to keep that guy fresh so he can take care of Game 1,” Megill said. “I’m glad he didn’t come in. We didn’t really need him.”