Milwaukee will hand the ball to baseball’s most dominant regular-season starter when the National League Division Series opens Saturday night, while San Diego arrives with a rotation built on October mileage and a bullpen ready to enter the game early.
Game 1 of the Padres-Brewers series is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET at American Family Field, with FS1, FOX Deportes and FOX One carrying the broadcast. Jacob Misiorowski is set for Milwaukee. San Diego had not named its starter, though Walker Buehler and Robbie Ray were the leading possibilities.
Misiorowski takes center stage for Milwaukee
A year ago, Misiorowski was not assured of a place on Milwaukee’s Division Series roster after his late-season work as a starter slipped. The Brewers still carried him as a reliever, and the 24-year-old has since turned that October inclusion into a breakout season at the front of the rotation.
Misiorowski went 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA, leading the Majors in ERA, strikeouts with 252, WHIP at 0.80 and opponents’ batting average at .157. That opponent average is the lowest recorded, while his WHIP ranks third-best historically.
Christian Yelich said the Brewers are confident in every arm they can send out, but called Misiorowski one of the game’s best pitchers and said Milwaukee likes its position whenever he takes the mound.
The Brewers’ regular-season rotation was among the league’s strongest despite its relative lack of experience. Milwaukee starters posted a 3.61 ERA, fifth in the Majors, and accumulated 15.6 FanGraphs WAR, fourth among MLB clubs. Most of those starts came from pitchers who entered the year with fewer than two full years of big-league service.
Catcher William Contreras said the days off before the series gave the pitching staff a needed breather and left the club better prepared for the weekend.
Henderson follows, while Game 3 remains unsettled
Logan Henderson is Milwaukee’s expected Game 2 starter, bringing a remarkably steady early career into his first postseason assignment. Across 23 appearances, all starts, over two seasons, Henderson has never surrendered more than three runs in an outing. That matches Zac Gallen for the longest streak to begin a career since the pitching distance was set at 60 feet, 6 inches in 1893.
Henderson does not overpower hitters with top-end velocity; his four-seam fastball sits roughly 10 mph below the heat Misiorowski brings. But the pitch’s movement and shape have made it effective, and his command of the moment has been consistent. His missing piece is October experience. A forearm injury cost him time last season, and he was only returning to health when Milwaukee set its NLDS and NLCS rosters.
Game 3 presents the Brewers’ largest decision. Milwaukee pursued Tarik Skubal before acquiring Dustin May and left-handed reliever JoJo Romero, moves made with postseason pitching in mind. May struggled late, however, and manager Pat Murphy has not committed publicly to a specific October role for him.
May did handle San Diego well during the season, recording a 1.23 ERA over 22 innings in three starts. If Milwaukee chooses another route, left-hander Robert Gasser is a candidate after posting a 1.67 ERA in his final six appearances. That run began when he was pressed into emergency relief after May was hit by a first-pitch comebacker at Citi Field on Aug. 26.
Other options include Shane Drohan as an opener after his late transition from starting to relief work, a change partly designed to manage his workload. Left-hander Kyle Harrison also remains in the picture. Harrison began the year strongly, endured a difficult stretch in the second half, then finished with improved stuff, though he is not built up for a long start.
Milwaukee used an opener three times during nine postseason games last year. Another bullpen-led Game 3 would not be a surprise.
Padres lean on veteran choices
San Diego’s rotation numbers tell a different story. Padres starters finished 21st in MLB with a 4.42 ERA and ranked 27th with 6.1 FanGraphs WAR. Yet their likely Division Series starters have been through the kind of games Milwaukee’s young group is only beginning to encounter.
Buehler appears to have the inside track for Game 1, though Ray offers the Padres a left-handed alternative and a different set of matchup possibilities. Buehler’s most recent postseason appearance came in the closing moments of the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series victory. He later acknowledged that he still did not feel fully like himself following his 2022 Tommy John surgery.
This season was different. Buehler posted a 3.62 ERA after the All-Star break, and the Padres won 10 of his 13 starts in that span. Ray’s results after arriving at the Trade Deadline were more uneven, leaving Buehler as the steadier choice despite his higher overall ERA.
Whichever veteran does not start the opener would be positioned for Game 4. In either scenario, San Diego figures to turn quickly to its high-end relief corps.
King gives San Diego its October anchor
Michael King is the likely Game 2 starter, and the Padres can line him up on normal rest for a possible Game 5. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning against baseball’s top offense in the Wild Card Series and now owns multiple postseason starts of at least seven scoreless innings.
King has a 2.05 career postseason ERA, including two scoreless relief appearances. He said pressure and adrenaline sharpen his focus, echoing a Tom Brady idea that execution in high-pressure moments separates great players.
San Diego views King as its ace, particularly after a strong second half. His Game 2 placement would give the Padres their best chance to answer a Milwaukee club that enters the series with the regular season’s statistical edge in starting pitching.
Nick Pivetta is the probable Game 3 choice. His Wild Card Series start against the Cubs lasted only 3 1/3 innings and included plenty of traffic, but he allowed just one run before San Diego went to its bullpen early with a chance to clinch.
Pivetta has looked sharp since returning from nearly five months out with a right elbow flexor strain. Including that Wild Card outing, he owns a 1.64 ERA since coming off the injured list and has become a credible second starter behind King.
The Padres spent much of the season searching for rotation stability. Pivetta’s return has eased that concern. Now San Diego must see whether its seasoned starters and deep bullpen can outlast Milwaukee’s young, high-performing staff over a five-game series.
