If Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski was intimidated by the prospect of going head-to-head with Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes, the rookie didn’t show it. Misiorowski out-dueled the Pirates’ star Wednesday in just his third major-league start during a 4-2 Brewers victory.
Misiorowski was masterful, picking up eight strikeouts and allowing two hits over five scoreless frames. With the outing, Misiorowski has a sterling 1.13 ERA over his first 16 innings in the majors.
Advertisement
Misiorowski must have been excited about the matchup because he came out throwing heat. The rookie threw 12 pitches at 100-plus mph during the first frame, picking up two strikeouts in the process.
Skenes apparently felt compelled to match the Brewers’ rookie. After a leadoff walk, Skenes registered two strikeouts in the first inning. He hit 100-plus mph once in the frame.
That was enough to push the start into rarified air. According to MLB’s Sarah Langs, it was just the seventh time in the pitch-tracking era that both starting pitchers touched 100 mph in a game.
After a 1-2-3 second inning from Misiorowski, Skenes found himself in some trouble. A leadoff walk and two consecutive singles loaded the bases with no outs. A groundout and a double brought in two runs, giving the Brewers an early lead. The team then tacked on two more runs before the inning ended. All four runs scored were charged to Skenes.
Advertisement
It marked the first time in his major-league career that Skenes gave up more than three runs in an inning and only the third time he has allowed more than three earned runs in a game.
Misiorowski didn’t run into trouble until the fourth inning, when he allowed the first two batters to reach. He was able to work out of the jam, picking up a double play and a strikeout to escape without giving up a run. The strikeout came via a 102-mph fastball just on the edge of the zone.
Skenes mostly settled in following his rough second inning, but the damage was done. In addition to scoring four runs, the Brewers also ran up his pitch count. Skenes was removed after just four innings of work, with four runs allowed on four hits. It was the shortest start of his career, excluding his abbreviated final start last year.
Advertisement
Despite yet another strong inning — in which he notched two more strikeouts — in the fifth, Misiorowski was removed from the contest at that point. He threw 74 pitches.
His final pitch was among his best of the day, as he froze Pirates infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa with a 95-mph slider that caught the inside of the strike zone.
Brewers fans showed up for the matchup of their young pitching phenom and the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year. The team announced a sell-out crowd of 42,774 for Wednesday’s matinee, the largest attendance of the season at American Family Field this season.
This news was originally published on this post .
Be the first to leave a comment