Dodgers jump Jacob Misiorowski early in NLCS Game 1, but Brewers ace finds a key way out

In Game 1 of the NLCS, Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski ran into a Dodgers lineup that was ready to attack early. Los Angeles got ahead by making him work through deep counts and forcing him to navigate traffic, a pattern that contributed to a shortened outing, according to Yahoo Sports’ account of the start.

Misiorowski, the Brewers’ ace for this postseason run and described in the report as a Cy Young favorite, struggled to locate his “stuff” for much of the night. That lack of command matters in the NLCS because each hitter sees fewer margin-for-error at-bats, and the Dodgers’ approach was to turn that into leverage, nudging Misiorowski toward pitches that had to be more specific, more repeatable, and more difficult to throw when the strike zone was not consistently accessible.

Still, the most telling micro-moment came in the top of the third inning. The report says Misiorowski got Shohei Ohtani to bite on back-to-back pitches that were both placed where they needed to be: first, a 91-mph slider that sat just below the zone, tempting the swing but not offering a clean contact window. Then, on the next sequence, Misiorowski fired a 100.8-mph fastball to the upper inside corner for strike three, ending the threat.

That two-pitch sequence functioned like a reset button for Misiorowski after a night that, by the report’s description, had been defined by imperfect location. The value of that kind of strikeout is not just that it removed an elite bat, but that it showed Misiorowski could still pair velocity and shape with the kind of precision the Dodgers were not giving away themselves.

For the Brewers, the key question after a start like this is how much of the trouble was process-related versus physical. When a pitcher is forced into longer counts, it changes everything from pitch selection to how often he can attack hitters with his most efficient looks. Misiorowski’s ability to finish the third with a high-velocity strikeout suggests he was still capable of putting the Dodgers on the defensive, even if his overall command did not match his best work for stretches.

For the Dodgers, the takeaway is equally straightforward. The report’s framing is that they got an early jump, forcing Misiorowski to pitch deep into counts and shortening the rhythm of a start that would normally dictate matchups. In a series setting, that kind of success tends to inform early at-bat aggression, especially when the first inning reveals that the pitcher may have to work around the zone rather than through it.

As the NLCS moves forward, what to watch next is whether Milwaukee can tighten the areas where Misiorowski was most vulnerable, particularly with sequences that put him behind in the count. The Brewers will also be monitoring their bullpen usage from Game 1, because once an ace is forced into an abbreviated night, every subsequent managerial decision becomes more consequential for the next games in the series.