The Milwaukee Brewers will turn to hard-throwing rookie right-hander Jacob Misiorowski as they try to become the first MLB team to clinch a postseason berth when they host the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.
Misiorowski (5-2, 4.09 ERA) will be opposed by right-hander Sonny Gray (13-8, 4.45 ERA).
The Brewers' magic number is one, meaning a win -- or some help from the San Francisco Giants or Cincinnati Reds with a loss -- will seal the playoffs.
The Brewers took the opener 8-2 on Friday night to snap a three-game skid. Christian Yelich had a two-run homer, his 28th, and Quinn Priester won his franchise-record 12th straight decision, allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn, who has been playing with a torn meniscus in his right knee, was a late scratch and will not play again this season.
"We took him out of the lineup today and had a really good conversation with him," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said after the game. "We're going to go ahead and call it a year and put him on the IL."
Milwaukee (90-58), with the best record in the majors, maintained its 5 1/2-game lead over the Chicago Cubs. St. Louis (72-76), which has lost four straight, dropped four games back of the final wild-card spot in the National League.
"I didn't even know it was going to be our 90th win today," Yelich said. "We're just trying to stack up as many as we can and just play well down the last few weeks of the season."
The Brewers shuffled their rotation, moving Misiorowski up to Saturday to give scheduled starter Brandon Woodruff extra rest. Woodruff, who missed all of last season with an injury, now is slated to pitch Wednesday.
"The guy has come back from a major surgery," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of Woodruff before Friday's game. "Just want to make sure that health is important. Regardless, we're still trying to win tonight."
Misiorowski struggled after being named to the All-Star team after just five major league starts, going six starts without a win until his last time out. The 23-year-old right-hander was 0-1 with a 9.58 ERA in three starts in August.
In his most recent start, he resembled his early season form, allowing one run on three hits over seven innings, striking out eight and walking two for the win in a 10-2 victory at Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Jackson Chourio had two hits and two RBIs in the Friday win, his fourth multi-hit effort in 11 games since coming off the injured list. He is batting .326 with three homers, four doubles and seven RBIs over that span.
St. Louis has scored more than two runs just once in its past four games. The Cardinals are 6-42 when scoring two or fewer runs.
After starting out 8-2 through June, Gray has gone 5-6. In his first start in September, he was tagged for seven runs in six innings in an 11-3 loss to the Athletics. He bounced back to get for a win in his last start, allowing three runs on two hits in 5 1/3 innings in a 4-3 victory over the Giants last Sunday.
Gray is 4-6 with a 3.64 ERA in 18 career starts vs. Milwaukee. He is 0-1 in two starts this season against the Brewers, allowing nine runs in 10 1/3 innings.
--Field Level Media
