Brewers' Misiorowski uses more than heat to stymie Ohtani, Dodgers - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — A dominant fastball has made Jacob Misiorowski one of the most exciting pitchers in baseball over the past two seasons, but it was an effective slider that helped him get out of a bases-loaded jam by striking out Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman in the Milwaukee Brewers' 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.

«He's understanding how his breaking stuff moves and what he can do with it on any particular day,» Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.

Misiorowski allowed one run on five hits in six innings, needing an expanded arsenal of pitches to get out of the fifth unscathed after the bottom of the Dodgers' order had three consecutive singles to bring up Ohtani with one out. The two superstars had already faced off twice, with Misiorowski throwing six straight fastballs over 102 mph to retire him on a popup leading off the game.

Misiorowski needed three pitches to fan Ohtani, and only one was a fastball. Instead, catcher William Contreras called for a curveball and slider to bookend that 102.4 mph heater.

«William took control and saw something, and we readjusted,» said Misiorowski, who improved to 12-5 while lowering his ERA to 1.75 with his 13th start this season allowing one or zero runs.

Misiorowski carried over the momentum to get Freeman swinging on five pitches, executing another slider to end the inning.

«I was trying to throw sliders down to get Shohei to bounce something, but, no, I got swings and misses. Kind of took that same approach into the Freddie Freeman at-bat, and was trying to get the same outcome, and it worked out,» Misiorowski said.

For Murphy, a growing repertoire of pitches is another indication of the 24-year-old Misiorowski's development.

«Proved to everyone out there