Jacob Misiorowski’s Lesson From Adam Wainwright Has Gone ‘A Long Ways’

The Milwaukee Brewers got off to a 2-0 lead in the National League Championship Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday, and ace Jacob Misiorowski played a major role in the Game 1 win. Misiorowski, who is in his second postseason run with the Brewers, allowed one run on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks over 4 1/3 innings against the reigning World Series champions in Sunday's win. And he credited much of that outing to former St. Louis Cardinals ace and current MLB on FOX commentator Adam Wainwright. When FOX Sports’ David Ortiz asked Misiorowski during the MLB on FOX pregame show before Monday's Game 2 win, Misiorowski immediately credited Wainwright for impacting his mindset. "Honestly, big shoutout to Wainwright," Misiorowski said. "I got to talk with him and got to pick his brain a little bit on how to watch video of myself, and brought that into this one, and really stuck with my game plan instead of trying to adapt to the game too much. It worked out." For Misiorowski, who grew up outside of Kansas City, Missouri, Wainwright has always been the inspiration behind his baseball talent and his pitching style. Now, looking up to Wainwright, who played 18 seasons for the Cardinals and was part of their 2006 World Series-winning team, his simple pieces of advice have played a big part in Misiorowski's success as a pitcher. The 24-year-old right-hander has been the anchor of Milwaukee’s rotation, and that was on full display Sunday, when he took the ball opposite Dodgers ace and two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. When talking about Wainwright’s impact with FOX Sports’ Kevin Burkhardt, Misiorowski explained how it changed his approach. "The biggest one was the mindset of watching film. I would really get down on myself and couldn’t really watch film by myself. I would get frustrated and have to turn it off," Misiorowski said. "Wainwright was telling me to think about it differently." So how did Wainwright change the way "Miz" watches film? By keeping it simple. "Before, I was critical of every little movement," Misiorowski said. "Now, Wainwright’s like, ‘Hey, focus on little things. Instead of fixing it, plan on how to make it better,’ and that’s helped a lot." That one simple lesson has helped turn the Brewers’ starter into one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball in just two seasons. This postseason, Misiorowski has allowed three runs on nine hits over 8 1/3 innings. With a fastball that routinely tops 100 mph and has even reached the 105-mph mark, he has delivered in big moments as Milwaukee tries to get past the Dodgers, who swept the Brewers in last year’s NLCS, and hand Los Angeles its first postseason elimination since 2023.