Here’s how Milwaukee Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski opened Wednesday’s game against San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill:
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102.6 mph fastball for a swinging strike
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103.3 mph fastball for a swinging strike
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102.9 mph fastball for a ball (just off the low-inside corner)
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102.1 mph fastball for a foul
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96.8 mph slider for a called strike
No one ever said baseball was supposed to be easy, but that’s just not a reasonable challenge. And yet, it was simply the tone-setter for Misiorowski, who finished the night with 10 strikeouts in 7 scoreless innings, allowing only 4 hits.
Misiorowski maintained his velocity across the start, a rarity among MLB’s top flame-throwing starting pitchers. He hit 103.2 mph in his 93rd and final pitch of the night, striking out Nick Castellanos to end the seventh inning.
However, the night ended on a sour note, as Misiorowski went out for the eighth inning but called over the athletic trainer while warming up. He left the game, with Brewers manager Pat Murphy later telling reporters he was dealing with quad cramping. That's the second time this month he's left a start due to cramps.
Misiorowski himself said he would be fine.
The Brewers went on to waste Misiorowski’s performance as Brewers relief ace Abner Uribe allowed a three-run homer to Gavin Sheets in the ninth inning to give San Diego the win.
The start was Misiorowski’s follow-up to his gem against the New York Yankees last week, in which he threw the seven hardest pitches MLB has ever recorded from a starter. He didn’t quite light up the radar gun this time around, by which we mean he merely threw the fifth-fastest pitch MLB has ever recorded from a starter.
There is no shortage of Misiorowski stats these days. All you really need to know is this type of arm is very far from normal. No starting pitcher has ever thrown as hard as this since MLB started using advanced cameras to track velocity. We can’t say for certain he’s the hardest-throwing starter ever due to how the technology has changed over the decades, but you shouldn’t need precedent to recognize this kind of stuff as special.
Misiorowski’s ERA for the season now sits at 2.12. Over his past three starts, he has posted 29 strikeouts, 4 hits and 0 runs across 18 1/3 innings. Odds are no one will be questioning his All-Star selection this time if he makes it to the Midsummer Classic.
