Garrett Mitchell’s sixth-inning swing against Ethan Roberts turned the tide in what ended up being a 6-2 Milwaukee Brewers victory over the Chicago Cubs at American Family Field on Friday night, June 26.
But the stage for the two-run home run he hit was set, the center fielder said, by the guts Jacob Misiorowski showed in escaping a bases-loaded jam in the top of that very same frame.
“I wouldn’t trust anyone else (more) in that situation,” Mitchell said.
And indeed, it was a tight one as the Cubs were threatening to build on a slim 1-0 lead having singled and then walked twice with two outs and with Ian Happ at the plate only for Misiorowski to strike him out with a 102.8-mph fastball on his 107th pitch of the game.
“Who else would you rather have up there and who else is going to compete like that?” Mitchell continued. “The guts that he had in that inning is momentum going into that dugout as an offense. He’s putting everything out there every last pitch. That is something that fired me up.
“That’s a momentum shift, in my opinion.”
BOX SCORE: Brewers 6, Cubs 2
William Contreras also hit a two-run homer an inning later to help run the Brewers’ record to 4-0 against the Cubs so far this season, their winning streak against National League Central opponents to 11 games and their overall winning streak to five games as they reached 50 wins faster than any other team in franchise history.
And Milwaukee did so with Pat Murphy at far less than 100 percent, as he managed from the dugout, his office and elsewhere in the wake of a surgical procedure he had done on his back only one day earlier in Appleton.
Indeed, everything is coming up roses these days for a Brewers team that sits a season-high 21 games over .500 and now sports a 7 1/2-game lead over the Cubs in the Central Division standings.
“It’s definitely a positive,” said Misiorowski of the win. “Any win in our division is always an extra check on the checklist. It’s always fun.”
Another incredible first inning by Jacob Misiorowski
It took only three pitches for Misiorowski to wow the crowd and the TV audience, as he uncorked an insane 105.5-mph fastball to leadoff man Pete Crow-Armstrong – which, to his absolute credit, he somehow managed to foul off.
Misiorowski ended up striking out Crow-Armstrong on six pitches and then Alex Bregman on eight pitches before getting Michael Busch to ground out on his second pitch.
All told, over 16 pitches, Misiorowski topped 103 mph nine times.
Misiorowski’s velocity dipped a bit after his remarkable opening inning but it was still plenty good enough to have limited the Cubs to a lone baserunner through four, a walk which he immediately erased with a double-play grounder.
That run of success came to an end to start the fifth when Seiya Suzuki went with a 90.1-mph slider in a full count and drove it out to right-center to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead.
Misiorowski followed that up by issuing a five-pitch walk to Happ, but finally got back on track and left him stranded.
Meanwhile, Misiorowski’s counterpart, ex-Brewer Colin Rea, controlled his former team with an aggravating but effective mix that saw him work around consecutive singles to start the game, a one-out Cooper Pratt double in the second – the shortstop’s first extra-base hit in the major leagues – and a leadoff single by David Hamilton in the fifth.
The Hamilton hit was especially frustrating for the Brewers, who saw the speedster end up at third on a stolen base and throwing error by Carson Kelly only to see Christian Yelich and Brice Turang sandwich strikeouts around a Jackson Chourio flyout.
Max effort for The Miz
Misiorowski struck out Dansby Swanson and Crow-Armstrong to begin the sixth inning then surrendered a single to Bregman and followed with consecutive walks drawn by Busch and Suzuki.
That brought Happ to the plate, and Misiorowski eventually won the battle by striking him out with his final three fastballs registering 102.5, 102.3 and 102.8 mph – a gut check of an ending as Misiorowski finished one shy of his career high for pitches thrown at 107 over his six innings.
“It’s always to win a ballgame against a team like that,” he said. “For me, I felt like I sprayed it a little bit, so there’s always something to work on between starts.
“It always helps a team like that to face a guy multiple times. But they had a game plan coming in to battle me and foul (pitches) off. They stuck with it, and more power to them.”
Misiorowski (9-3) allowed two hits, a run and tied a season high with four walks while striking out seven and inducing 19 whiffs.
“He turned it up a little bit when he had to and got the big punchout,” said Murphy. “That’s what he’s capable of. It’s not a glitzy outing, but it’s a great outing. And it’s tough to do against opponents you’ve pitched a lot against.
“Mature enough to bear down and get that last out.”
Garrett Mitchell hits a meaningful home run
Contreras opened the sixth with a single and Jake Bauers walked, leading to Rea’s exit.
Roberts entered and enjoyed a stroke of great luck when he plucked Andrew Vaughn’s line drive right back at him and then turned and doubled Contreras off second. The Cubs actually came very close to turning a triple play, with Bauers narrowly getting back to first base.
Then, just as quickly, the entire tenor of the game changed when Mitchell teed off on Roberts’s second pitch and parked it 409 feet out to right-center to give Milwaukee its first lead of the game at 2-1.
It came in Mitchell’s 69th game of the season – a coincidence he was aware of considering it matched his career high set in 2024.
“Thank you for noticing that,” he said. “I think it just kind of goes to the process I put in. I’ve obviously had some injuries in the past that were out of my control, right? Specifically with the shoulder stuff. Just taking it a day at a time. Focusing on my process, doing whatever I can to help the team win.
“But from a personal standpoint, it feels good. This is what I’ve been wanting for years. I think this is what people have been wanting to see for years. To be able to be out there, it’s emotional, and today is a small milestone for me. But we’ve got a lot more to go.”
Pratt then followed up with a walk, and David Hamilton laced a triple down the left-field line that Ian Happ made a diving try for but came up short.
Pratt scored easily, and the lead was 3-1.
The Venezuelans provide insurance
Chourio doubled off Jayden Murray to start the seventh inning, then two batters later Contreras belted a two-run homer to left – a fitting turn of events considering the two are native Venezuelans and in their own ways trying to honor their country in the wake of the devastating earthquakes that occurred there earlier this week.
The homer was the ninth of the season for Contreras, who’s also hitting .306 and should absolutely be in the running for a spot in the All-Star Game when the reserves are announced.
Chicago trimmed Milwaukee’s lead by a run in the eighth when Aaron Ashby took over for Abner Uribe and walked the first two batters he faced, with the first free pass coming in to score on a sacrifice fly.
The Brewers got that run back in the bottom of the frame when Cooper Pratt drew a leadoff walk and two batters later came around to score on a Yelich double to left-center.
Trevor Megill pitched a scoreless ninth to finish the game up.
Brewers record
50-29, first place in NL Central.
Brewers lineup
Cubs lineup
Brewers probable pitchers and schedule
Brewers vs. Cubs June 27, 6:10 p.m.: Milwaukee LHP Kyle Harrison (8-1, 2.50) vs. Chicago TBA. TV – Brewers.TV. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
Brewers vs. Cubs June 28, 1:10 p.m.: Milwaukee RHP Brandon Woodruff (2-1, 3.00) vs. Chicago TBA. TV – Brewers.TV. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers 6, Cubs 2: Milwaukee remains undefeated against its rival
Reporting by Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
