Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals struck early. Jacob Misiorowski struck back. After yielding a pair of home runs before securing his eighth out -- marking the first time in his budding career that Misiorowski has surrendered multiple homers in consecutive outings -- Milwaukee’s All-Star right-hander settled in to add 11 strikeouts to his Major League-leading total (167) while carrying the Brewers through the seventh inning of a 4-3 win in Game 1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The Brewers got another great start from Robert Gasser to take Game 2, 10-2, and swept the doubleheader while using only five pitchers. “All the dominating starts are cool, but starts like today are the ones that show you the growth," said Christian Yelich of Misiorowski. “Everything’s not going perfect. It’s hot. It’s a day game, a doubleheader. It can go sideways on you pretty easy, and he was able to step up and really dig deep and find a way to get through seven and keep it close. “These are the kind of starts that show you how far he’s come and what he’s becoming in the league.” Misiorowski retired the final 14 batters he faced in his 103-pitch outing, quite a rebound after Jordan Walker hit a cutter for a two-run homer in the first inning and Iván Herrera connected with a 102.4 mph fastball for a solo shot in the third. The Cards catcher had spent the morning preparing to face Misiorowski by cranking the pitching machine as high as 110 mph while he took cuts in the batting cage. "I think, in preparation when I have to play against that kind of fastball," Herrera said, "it's just making it look a little slower." They were the fourth and fifth homers off Misiorowski in his last three starts against the Cubs, Reds and Cardinals, after he went 11 consecutive starts before that stretch without allowing a single home run, and only three extra-base hits in that span. It was up to Misiorowski to answer back. “When you get behind like that, you have to make a decision. ‘Am I going to hang in there and help my team?’” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “And he very much did. I’m as pleased with this outing as any outing he’s had.” What did Misiorowski say to himself after the homers? “It’s an important game, Game 1, to not burn the bullpen. That was the biggest thought of it all,” he said. Misiorowski bounced back and so did the Brewers, who came back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 so their starter could depart with a 4-3 lead after Christian Yelich’s go-ahead double in the se