MILWAUKEE — MILWAUKEE (AP) \u2014 Andrew Vaughn and Jacob Misiorowski were both in the minor leagues with separate organizations at the start of June, one on the way up and the other on the way down.<\/p>\n
Four months later, they played key roles in helping the Milwaukee Brewers reach the National League Championship Series.<\/p>\n
Vaughn hit a tiebreaking homer in the fourth inning that put Milwaukee ahead for good Saturday night in its 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs<\/a> in the decisive Game 5 of their NL Division Series. Misiorowski earned his second win of the series by allowing just one run over four innings in relief.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s insane,\u201d Misiorowski said during the Brewers\u2019 clubhouse celebration. \u201cIt\u2019s everything I\u2019ve worked for, and it\u2019s a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Their arrivals in Milwaukee were indirectly connected.<\/p>\n When Misiorowski was promoted<\/a> from the minor leagues in June, he took Aaron Civale\u2019s spot in Milwaukee\u2019s rotation. Civale reacted to the bullpen assignment by saying he wouldn\u2019t mind getting traded<\/a> to a team that would allow him to continue starting.<\/p>\n The Brewers then sent Civale to the Chicago White Sox in a deal<\/a> that brought them Vaughn. Civale ended up finishing the season with the Cubs, and he pitched 4 1\/3 shutout innings in this series.<\/p>\n At the time of the trade, there was little reason to believe Vaughn would become a major factor for Milwaukee this season. He had batted .189 with a .218 on-base percentage and .314 slugging percentage in 48 games with the White Sox, who eventually sent him to the minor leagues.<\/a> The Brewers initially kept him in the minors after acquiring him.<\/p>\n But he got called back up to the majors July 7 after Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins went on the injured list with a sprained left thumb. Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy greeted Vaughn by letting him know he would probably get sent right back to the minors if he continued chasing pitches outside the strike zone.<\/p>\n Vaughn homered off Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto in his first at-bat with the Brewers and improved his chase rate in making a remarkable transformation.<\/a> He batted .308 with a .375 on-base percentage and .493 slugging percentage in 64 games with Milwaukee.<\/p>\n \u201cThis guy\u2019s a gamer,\u201d Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said. \u201cHe\u2019s been through a lot, and he\u2019s failed, just like all of us. We\u2019ve all failed in this sport. If you haven\u2019t, you haven\u2019t been doing it long enough. So we\u2019ve all failed. For that guy to come in here and be himself and put the team on his back at times this year is really awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n Vaughn offered simple reasons for his dramatic improvement.<\/p>\n \u201cChange of scenery, being around some different coaches, different stuff and just playing free,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Vaughn put the Brewers ahead Saturday by connecting on a 3-2 pitch from Colin Rea and hitting a 383-foot drive over the left-field wall with two outs in the fourth. That cleared the way for Misiorowski to earn the Game 5 win.<\/p>\n Misiorowski had his own ups and downs this season.<\/p>\n The flamethrowing right-hander burst onto the scene and made such an impact that he earned an All-Star Game selection<\/a> after making just five starts, a stretch that included winning head-to-head pitching matchups with Cy Young Award favorite Paul Skenes<\/a> and three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw.<\/a><\/p>\n Then the rookie went on the injured lift with a left tibia bruise. He returned in mid-August but allowed 22 runs over 32 2\/3 innings the rest of the season, a slump that led to concern about how much the Brewers could trust the excitable right-hander in a postseason setting.<\/p>\n \u201cWe weren\u2019t easy on him,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cI didn\u2019t spend a lot of time trying to pump him up. I wanted to find out what he had, because I knew with that kind of stuff, he could really help us.\u201d<\/p>\n He helped them tremendously.<\/p>\n