Misiorowski gets his 1st shot at Cubs as NL Central co-leaders begin series in Milwaukee

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MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski already has won matchups with Paul Skenes and Clayton Kershaw and has pitched in the All-Star Game since reaching the major leagues six weeks ago.

So forgive the 23-year-old if he isn't getting overly caught up in the atmosphere surrounding his first matchup with the NL Central-rival Chicago Cubs -- even though the two teams share the National League's best record at 62-43.

"I know it's a division rival so it's going to be fun, but there's nothing different than a normal day," Misiorowski said.

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That's a typical approach for the 6-foot-7 right-hander who is set to oppose All-Star Matthew Boyd, a 34-year-old southpaw in the midst of a career year.

Misiorowski says he spends the days before a start focusing more on himself and making sure he's physically ready than worrying about the hitters he's going to face.

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"I don't really prepare for an opponent," he said. "I just prepare my body for a game. I don't think I'm looking ahead at who's going to be there. It's just about making myself ready."

Both teams are ready for a major test this week.

Tuesday's pitching matchup features Colin Rea (8-4, 4.08 ERA) for the Cubs and Quinn Priester (9-2, 3.28) for the Brewers. Wednesday's scheduled starters are Chicago's Shota Imanaga (7-4, 3.12) and Milwaukee's Freddy Peralta (12-4, 2.81).

"Look, it's two teams that are playing really well, that have postseason aspirations," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. "Obviously, it feels like we're going to be battling for the division. So, you know, it's still July, but these are big games."

The Cubs lead the season series 3-2 and won two of three in Milwaukee from May 2-4. This marks the last time these teams will square off in Milwaukee this season, though they have a five-game series at Wrigley Field from Aug. 18-21.

American Family Field generally has a little more energy when the Cubs are in town. The large number of Cubs fans capitalizing on the short drive from Chicago often results in about a 50-50 split in the crowd.

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This series got even spicier after Counsell, a Milwaukee-area native and the winningest manager in Brewers history, left for the Cubs following the 2023 season. Counsell has been showered with boos whenever his name has been mentioned each time he's managed the Cubs in Milwaukee.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy was a bench coach on Counsell's staff in Milwaukee. When Counsell played college baseball at Notre Dame, Murphy was his coach. The two men remain friendly even while managing division rivals in the majors.

Now they're meeting with the NL Central lead on the line.

"It's going to be fun," Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff said. "I don't care if it's a Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday series. It's going to be packed. It's going to be loud. It's going to be a playoff-like feeling, which is good for us. It's a good test for us, to kind of see where we're at."

This didn't look like a particularly competitive race for much of the year.

The Brewers struggled to get above .500 for the first two months of the season and were 6 1/2 games behind the Cubs as recently as June 18. But they're 23-8 since that date, while the Cubs have gone 17-15.

"Obviously, they've played really great baseball here, especially lately," Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said. "Add in two other teams over .500 I think (Cincinnati is 56-50 and St. Louis is 54-53), and it's a strong division right now. Obviously, that's why you need 162 games to really see the test of it."

They've won in different ways.

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The Cubs entered Sunday with a .445 slugging percentage that ranked second in the majors -- behind only the New York Yankees -- while Milwaukee was 23rd at .384. Yet both teams were in the top eight in scoring, with the Cubs second and the Brewers eighth. Both teams love to run, as they entered Sunday tied for second in the majors in steals.

This series features two of the game's bright young outfield stars in Chicago's Pete Crow-Armstrong and Milwaukee's Jackson Chourio, who is on a 20-game hitting streak.

Milwaukee's edge is its extraordinary starting rotation depth. The Brewers entered Sunday with a 3.59 ERA that ranked fourth in the majors, while the Cubs were 15th at 3.89.

Milwaukee's pitching staff got a big boost when Misiorowski burst onto the scene last month. Now he gets his first taste of the Brewers-Cubs rivalry.

Woodruff isn't surprised that Misiorowski doesn't seem fazed by the challenge.

"This kid throws 102 (mph)," Woodruff said. "If I was him, I wouldn't be scared of nothing."

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