2026 NL Cy Young race update ahead of Jacob Misiorowski's start against Cubs

It's Miz day in Milwaukee.

Amid the flame-throwing Jacob Misiorowski's incredible 2026 season, his home starts have truly become something of a holiday in the Cream City. Milwaukee Brewers fans flock to American Family Field to catch a glimpse of the hardest-throwing starting pitcher in MLB history, and tonight they will see him face-off with the arch-rival Chicago Cubs.

After defeating the Cubs in thrilling fashion on Labor Day, the Brewers have officially won the season series against their NL Central challengers. With an 8.0-game cushion in the division and just 17 games left to play, hopefully the tiebreaker that results from winning the season series won't matter, but the Brewers still have yet to officially clinch their fourth-consecutive NL Central crown.

Milwaukee can knock off two ticks on their Magic Number to clinch a division title, which currently sits at 9 after their win on Monday night, by knocking off the Cubs on Tuesday evening. The Brewers have won 18 of the 26 games that Misiorowski has started this year, but the flame-throwing ace is coming off his worst start of the season. Facing the Cubs at Wrigley Field last week, Miz covered just 4.0 innings (his shortest start of the campaign), surrendered five earned runs (the most he's allowed in a start this year), and walked four batters (tied for the most he's allowed in one outing this season).

However, even after Misiorowski's poor start in Wrigleyville last Wednesday and conversations surrounding the Brewers managing his workload during the final three weeks of the regular season, Milwaukee's budding superstar remains the clear favorite to take home the NL Cy Young Award this year. Let's take a closer look at Misiorowski's case for his first Cy Young Award as the end of the 2026 regular season draws nearer.

Jacob Misiorowski remains the clear frontrunner for the NL Cy Young Award with three weeks remaining in the regular season

Misiorowski's case for the 2026 NL Cy Young Award may have taken a small hit last week, but the odds don't reflect it. With three weeks remaining, Miz (-700) is still the clear frontrunner over challengers like Chris Sale (+500) and Cristopher Sanchez (+3000). Odds according to DraftKings as of September 8.

Given Misiorowski's lead in several key pitching categories, it's hard to imagine Sale closing that gap over the final month of the season. Miz currently leads all qualified NL starting pitchers in ERA (1.97), strikeouts (227), WHIP (0.79), and opponent batting average (.155). He's also allowed the fewest stolen bases (1 all season), third-fewest home runs (14), and issued the fifth-fewest walks (39) of any qualified pitcher in the National League. Put simply, Misiorowski is the obvious choice for the Cy Young Award this year.

However, Miz, as he's acknowledged throughout the 2026 season, is playing for far more than individual accolades this year; he wants to lead the Brewers to their first World Series championship in franchise history. What matters more, therefore, over the final weeks of the regular season, is not his Cy Young case and further strengthening it, but rather ensuring that he's well-rested and ready-to-go when the postseason arrives. If that means shorter outings and fewer opportunities to add to his eye-popping strikeout total, so be it. The goals of Misiorowski, who looks destined to win the Cy Young regardless, and the Brewers are far bigger than individual awards this year.

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