PITTSBURGH -- In May, pitched the Brewers into first place for good with a win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

In August, he pitched the Brewers to the best record in Major League Baseball with a win over the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Milwaukee hasn’t surrendered its perch since.

So, with their 24-year-old, 6-foot-7 ace in the midst of one of the best seasons for a pitcher in franchise history, the Brewers had the right man on the mound on the road Tuesday night at PNC Park. Misiorowski delivered five more scoreless innings and the Brewers beat the Pirates, 5-1, to creep to the cusp of extending their reign as kings of the National League Central. 

Luis Lara and Joey Ortiz drove in two runs apiece from the bottom third of the batting order to back Misiorowski, who lowered his MLB-leading ERA to 1.89 and raised his MLB-leading strikeout total to 243. Meanwhile, the Brewers’ magic number to clinch the division for the fourth consecutive season and the fifth time in the last six years dropped all the way down to one.

After high-fives and handshakes, it was time to retreat to the visitors’ clubhouse to watch the conclusion of the Braves-Cubs game at Wrigley Field. A Cubs loss would clinch the division for the Brewers. A Cubs win would mean the Brewers come back Wednesday night behind another second-year starter, Logan Henderson, with a chance to clinch the division themselves. 

Either way, they were on the cusp of a celebration.

“There’s nothing like having your eyes burn with champagne,” said principal owner Mark Attanasio during Tuesday’s Brewers.TV broadcast.

There’s still plenty to play for. Besides attempting to hold off the Dodgers, Rays, Braves and Yankees for the best record in the sport -- and home-field advantage throughout the postseason -- the Brewers (94-57) have some franchise milestones in sight. They are within striking distance of the franchise record for wins (97, set last year) and the first 100-win season for an NL Central club since the Cubs won 103 games in 2016. That was the year Chicago ended its century-long World Series drought. 

Once the Brewers clinch, the coming weeks present a different kind of challenge. They will try to rest their weary players -- including Misiorowski, whose 166 1/3 innings are a career high -- while preventing the creep of any rust. 

But the hard part was almost done.