MILWAUKEE — Andrew Vaughn and Jacob Misiorowski were both in the minor leagues with separate organizations at the start of June, one on the way up and the other on the way down.
Four months later, they played key roles in helping the Milwaukee Brewers reach the National League Championship Series.
Vaughn hit a tiebreaking homer in the fourth inning that put Milwaukee ahead for good Saturday night in its 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs in the decisive Game 5 of their NL Division Series. Misiorowski earned his second win of the series by allowing just one run over four innings in relief.
“Itâ€s insane,†Misiorowski said during the Brewers†clubhouse celebration. “Itâ€s everything Iâ€ve worked for, and itâ€s a lot of fun.â€
Their arrivals in Milwaukee were indirectly connected.
When Misiorowski was promoted from the minor leagues in June, he took Aaron Civaleâ€s spot in Milwaukeeâ€s rotation. Civale reacted to the bullpen assignment by saying he wouldnâ€t mind getting traded to a team that would allow him to continue starting.
The Brewers then sent Civale to the Chicago White Sox in a deal that brought them Vaughn. Civale ended up finishing the season with the Cubs, and he pitched 4 1/3 shutout innings in this series.
At the time of the trade, there was little reason to believe Vaughn would become a major factor for Milwaukee this season. He had batted .189 with a .218 on-base percentage and .314 slugging percentage in 48 games with the White Sox, who eventually sent him to the minor leagues. The Brewers initially kept him in the minors after acquiring him.
But he got called back up to the majors July 7 after Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins went on the injured list with a sprained left thumb. Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy greeted Vaughn by letting him know he would probably get sent right back to the minors if he continued chasing pitches outside the strike zone.
Vaughn homered off Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto in his first at-bat with the Brewers and improved his chase rate in making a remarkable transformation. He batted .308 with a .375 on-base percentage and .493 slugging percentage in 64 games with Milwaukee.
“This guyâ€s a gamer,†Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said. “Heâ€s been through a lot, and heâ€s failed, just like all of us. Weâ€ve all failed in this sport. If you havenâ€t, you havenâ€t been doing it long enough. So weâ€ve all failed. For that guy to come in here and be himself and put the team on his back at times this year is really awesome.â€
Vaughn offered simple reasons for his dramatic improvement.
“Change of scenery, being around some different coaches, different stuff and just playing free,†he said.
Vaughn put the Brewers ahead Saturday by connecting on a 3-2 pitch from Colin Rea and hitting a 383-foot drive over the left-field wall with two outs in the fourth. That cleared the way for Misiorowski to earn the Game 5 win.
Misiorowski had his own ups and downs this season.
The flamethrowing right-hander burst onto the scene and made such an impact that he earned an All-Star Game selection after making just five starts, a stretch that included winning head-to-head pitching matchups with Cy Young Award favorite Paul Skenes and three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw.
Then the rookie went on the injured lift with a left tibia bruise. He returned in mid-August but allowed 22 runs over 32 2/3 innings the rest of the season, a slump that led to concern about how much the Brewers could trust the excitable right-hander in a postseason setting.
“We werenâ€t easy on him,†Murphy said. “I didnâ€t spend a lot of time trying to pump him up. I wanted to find out what he had, because I knew with that kind of stuff, he could really help us.â€
He helped them tremendously.
Misiorowski threw three shutout innings in a Game 2 victory while reaching a peak velocity of 104.3 mph and hitting at least 100 mph on 31 of his 57 pitches. Misiorowski entered in the second inning of Game 5 and immediately gave up a tying homer to Seiya Suzuki, but the 23-year-old silenced the Cubs from there.
He struck out three while allowing three hits and just the one run. He averaged 100.3 mph on his 17 fastballs, with 10 of them reaching at least 100 mph.
And for the first time in his brief major league career, Misiorowski didnâ€t walk a single batter.
Misiorowskiâ€s stellar NLDS performance virtually assures he will play a vital role when the Brewers face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series beginning Monday.
“You see how much Miz cares,†Arnold said. “Thatâ€s what itâ€s about. In a game like tonight, you can see heâ€s bleeding blue and gold.â€
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