Cy Young Showdown: Skubal vs Misiorowski Set for NLCS Game 1

A rare October pitching duel is on deck. The Milwaukee Brewers will hand the ball to ace Jacob Misiorowski for Sunday's National League Championship Series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who counter with trade-deadline prize Tarik Skubal — a two-time Cy Young Award winner. First pitch at American Family Field is set for 8 p.m. ET on FOX, opening a best-of-seven rematch of last season's NLCS, which the Dodgers swept. Misiorowski, 24 and the likely National League Cy Young winner, has been superb against Los Angeles: across two regular-season starts and a relief appearance in last year's NLCS, he has posted a 1.59 ERA with 27 strikeouts and three walks in 17 innings. He allowed two runs over four innings in his playoff debut against San Diego last weekend. Skubal, whom the Brewers reportedly pursued before Detroit dealt him to Los Angeles this summer, dominated the Braves in the NLDS opener, striking out seven across six innings of one-run ball. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, last year's World Series MVP, will start Game 2 for the Dodgers on Monday, with Logan Henderson and Robert Gasser lined up for Milwaukee's next two games. Dodgers utility man Miguel Rojas, who exited Game 3 of the NLDS with lower back pain, took ground balls and batting practice Friday but remains day-to-day with rosters due Sunday morning. The Dodgers are chasing a World Series three-peat; Milwaukee is in its fourth NLCS in franchise history, hunting its first Fall Classic appearance since 1982.