How Brewers starters Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson fared against the Padres this year

The Milwaukee Brewers will begin their first-ever postseason matchup with the San Diego Padres on Saturday night in what is bound to be an electric series between the two hottest teams in baseball. The Brewers, winners of 103 games during the regular season, secured the top overall seed in the postseason for the second consecutive year and are spending the week resting and preparing for what is hopefully a lengthy playoff run. The Padres, meanwhile, who tied the Brewers for the best regular season record during the month of September (18-6), hosted the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card Series over the last two days, and swept the Brewers' rivals while outscoring them 12-1.

NL Cy Young front-runner Jacob Misiorowski will unsurprisingly start Game 1 for the Brewers on Saturday night and rookie right-hander Logan Henderson will more than likely start Game 2. Manager Pat Murphy noted that Henderson's Game 2 assignment is "subject to change," during a media session on Tuesday afternoon.

While the Brewers are known to pull tricks from their sleeves during the postseason, it's likely Murphy was referring to the possible use of a left-handed opener for Game 2 if Milwaukee ended up facing the Chicago Cubs, who had lefties Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch at the top of their lineup. Seeing as the Padres are more righty-heavy at the top of their order, with All-Stars Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado both hitting from the right side, it's more likely Henderson will serve as a traditional starter in Game 2 now that the Brewers are officially facing San Diego.

The Brewers didn't play their best baseball against San Diego this year, with a 2-4 record against the Friars to prove it, but interestingly enough, both Misiorowski and Henderson turned in strong performances against San Diego during the regular season. Let's take a closer look at the starts that Milwaukee's Game 1 and 2 starters made against their NLDS opponents during the regular season.

Both Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson tossed quality starts against the Padres during the regular season

Let's start with Misiorowski's outing against the Padres, which occurred way back on May 13. After back-to-back scoreless outings against the Washington Nationals and New York Yankees to start the month of May, Miz drew the middle contest of a three-game set against the Padres at American Family Field. Misiorowski, as he did throughout the 2026 campaign, dominated his competition, covering seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts while allowing just four hits.

It's important to note that the lineup Miz faced back in May looks slightly different than the one San Diego is rolling out in October, but Tatis, Machado, Jackson Merrill, Ty France, Gavin Sheets, and Xander Bogaerts all played in the May 13 contest. Tatis did collect two hits off Misiorowski, but one was an infield single on a play third baseman Luis Rengifo probably should have made, and the other was a bloop single that left the bat at 69.7 mph. The other two hits Miz allowed were also singles -- one a softly hit liner from France that Brice Turang nearly made a play on, and the other a rope to center from Sheets.

It's safe to say Misiorowski carved up the Padres when he faced them in May, but, as previously mentioned, the circumstances have changed. No offense is hotter than the Padres' right now, meaning the Brewers' flame-throwing ace will certainly be tested on Saturday night.

Henderson's start against the Padres was far more recent. The rookie right-hander was tasked with the series opener in San Diego on August 10, and therefore faced a Padres' lineup that more closely resembles the one he will see on Sunday afternoon. Henderson turned in a quality start in that mid-August outing, allowing three earned runs in 6.1 innings pitched, but did surrender two homers. One was a second-inning mistake to France -- Henderson left a changeup up in the zone and the Padres' first baseman hit a line drive homer just over the fence in left field. The other was a two-run shot from Merrill in the bottom of the seventh, when Henderson was facing the Padres' outfielder for a third time. It's important to note that Henderson most likely won't be asked to face the Padres' lineup three times on Sunday.

Even still, Henderson racked up seven strikeouts during his regular season start against the Padres, while allowing just five hits and one walk. His three earned runs tied the most he's allowed in a start, but continued his incredible streak of 23 straight starts to begin his MLB career in which he's allowed three earned runs or less. That consistency and ability to keep his team in the game is exactly what the Brewers need from Henderson in the postseason.

Ironically, despite impressive performances from their starting pitchers, the Brewers lost both Misiorowski and Henderson's starts against the Padres this year. The loss in Miz's start was due to an uncharacteristic performance from Abner Uribe in the ninth inning, whereas Henderson was handed the loss in his start after the offense couldn't rally for more than two runs. Similar starts from both Miz and Henderson this weekend would undoubtedly give the Brewers a good chance to build a 2-0 series lead before heading to San Diego for Game 3.

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