MINNEAPOLIS — As beginnings to Major League Baseball careers go, it doesn’t get much better than what Milwaukee Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski has done on the mound over the past week-plus.
Maybe not perfect, but awfully close.
Misiorowski lost his bid for a perfect game in the seventh inning of a 17-6 win against the Minnesota Twins on Friday night, the second straight impressive start for the 6-foot-7, 197-pound right-hander.
Byron Buxton drew a leadoff walk before Matt Wallner lofted a home run to the flower bed just past the wall in right at American Family Field, ending Misiorowski’s run of hitless innings to start his MLB career at 11. He’s the first starting pitcher to do that since 1900.
“I think this is exactly how I ever dreamed of it coming along,” the 23-year-old from Missouri said. “It’s exciting.”
Misiorowski threw five no-hit innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 12, but he left in the sixth inning of that game with cramping in his right calf and quadriceps.
“I felt calmer and ready to go compared to the first one,” Misiorowski said. “Nerves were going pretty heavy on the first one, so it’s good to finally feel the feet under you.”
He struck out six batters Friday night, when his fastball reached 102.1 mph with his slider and changeup in the mid-90s.
“It’s important to prove to yourself as a young player that you belong in the big leagues and taste success and realize that you do belong here,” said Milwaukee teammate Christian Yelich, who had a career-high eight RBIs while starting at designated hitter before moving to left field in the ninth.
“He should believe he’s a really good major league pitcher, because he is,” added Yelich, 33, who was the 2018 National League MVP and earned his third MLB All-Star Game selection last year. “All the nights probably aren’t going to go as smooth as the first two, but you see the ability. He’s got a chance to something special every night he goes out there.”
Misiorowski is the only MLB pitcher since 1900 to have more wins (two) than hits allowed (one) in his first two career starts, according to OptaSTATS.
“He was attacking, but mixing, too,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said. “It wasn’t just heaters.”
After seeing four straight pitches of at least 100.8 mph from Misiorowski, Willi Castro twisted like a corkscrew and dropped to the ground as he struck out on a 95.5 mph slider in the first inning.
“You don’t see a guy throwing a slider 95, 96,” Castro said. “It’s really hard to pick up.”
Misiorowski threw 29 pitches of 100 mph or faster and had 12 of 101-plus mph. Since tracking started in 2008, the only starting pitchers to throw more in a game at 101 mph and above are Hunter Greene (33 on Sept. 17, 2022; 21 on March 30, 2023; 18 on July 26, 2022; 13 on April 16, 2022) and Jordan Hicks (18 on July 12, 2022), according to Major League Baseball.
After the homer by Wallner, Misiorowski was pulled for reliever Nick Mears and left to a standing ovation. He threw 86 pitches (60 for strikes) and departed with Milwaukee leading 8-2.
The Brewers scored five runs in the top of the seventh, a long time for a starter to sit in the dugout, but Misiorowski was adamant about going back to the mound.
He said, ‘Yes I’m getting toward the end, but I want to challenge myself,'” Murphy said. “It was a good time to have him do that.”