Jacob Misiorowski quite literally set the baseball world ablaze on Memorial Day.
The right-hander threw 57 of his 96 pitches over seven innings 100 miles per hour or faster to set a new major-league record and help lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at American Family Field.
It was a performance that left reporters researching, teammates and coaches marveling and fans in awe.
For Misiorowski, though, it was just another day at the office.
“That’s what I do,” he said. “I throw hard.”
Indeed he does, and he offered a glimpse into what his Monday afternoon would hold when he threw his first six pitches at least 103.1 mph and then carried that incredible velocity throughout the course of the game with his 93rd offering clocking in at 102.4.
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Even in this day where seemingly every pitcher is throwing harder than ever it’s something that baseball just has not seen and Misiorowski’s overall numbers show it – he’s now 5-2, sports an ERA of 1.83, a WHIP of 0.83 and his 100 strikeouts lead the majors (14.1 per nine innings) after shoving against the Cardinals.
Opposing batters are hitting him, if you can call it that, at a .152 clip and he hasn’t allowed an extra-base hit in more than a month.
“I’d say it’s pretty unique with everything that he’s able to do and how he makes it really difficult on guys with extension perceived velocity and all that stuff,” said Christian Yelich, whose two-run home run in the first inning staked Misiorowski to a 3-1 lead that would be more than enough on this day.
“It’s probably 1 of 1.”
Misiorowski took a no-hitter into the sixth against St. Louis and finished his day having allowed only a bloop single and a walk while tying a career high with 12 strikeouts – his fifth double-digit effort in that category in 11 starts on the year. He induced 19 swings and misses in all.
“Magnificent,” is how manager Pat Murphy described his 24-year-old ace’s outing. “One of the best performances I’ve seen in a long time.”
Misiorowski, meanwhile, needed to be asked if he even had fun on the mound afterward in the midst of another one of his low-key interview sessions.
“Of course,” he said. “It’s always fun to play baseball.
“Just another day.”
Not really. But here’s how Misiorowski’s game played out, frame by frame.
First inning
13 total pitches, 11 of 101.5 mph or better and eight of 103 or better
11 four-seam fastballs, one slider, one curveball
Leadoff man JJ Wetherholt got the worst of it all day for the Cardinals in terms of velocity, with Misiorowski peppering him with 103.1, 103.4, 103.2, 103.4, 103 and 103.2 before the second baseman worked a walk.
“I feel like that’s how it should be every day,” Misiorowski said. “I feel like that’s where I’m at. I think that’s just my normal.”
Wetherholt went nowhere, however, as Misiorowski struck out Iván Herrera and Alec Burleson on six pitches – five of which were 101.5 or faster – and got Jordan Walker to break his bat grounding out on a first-pitch curveball.
“Just relying on the heater, and trusting that I can get away with heaters up,” Misiorowski said.
Second inning
11 total pitches, nine of 100 mph or better
Nine four-seam fastballs, two sliders
Nolan Gorman, the Cardinals’ No. 5 hitter, got ahead in the count, 2-1, before fouling off 101.2 and swinging through 101.5. Masyn Winn followed by taking taking pitches of 102.4 and 101.8 and then grounding out to Brice Turang on a slider.
Bryan Torres, who homered in his major-league debut on Sunday in Cincinnati, swung through 100.8, 101.8 and 102.4 – a far cry from what he saw when he was paying his dues while playing for the Milwaukee Milkmen in the 2022 season.
Third inning
12 total pitches, nine of 100 mph or better
Nine four-seam fastballs, two curveballs, one slider
A dominant frame for Misiorowski, who struck out the side for the only time on the day. He hit triple digits on all four of his offerings to Pedro Pagés, including 102.3 mph to dispatch him, then froze speedster Victor Scott II with a third-pitch curveball that dotted the corner low and away before turning the lineup over and getting Wetherholt looking at 101.9 on the inner quadrant on the fifth pitch of the at-bat.
Fourth inning
15 total pitches, six of 100.9 mph or better
10 four-seam fastballs, four sliders, one curveball
Misiorowski needed four pitches to fan Herrera before Burleson made the best contact of any St. Louis hitter against the right-hander all day, hitting a fly ball 95.6 mph 372 feet to the warning track in right-center where Garrett Mitchell was able to track it down.
That brought up Walker, who embarked on the longest at-bat to that point against Misiorowski – seven pitches, with the penultimate offering being dialed up to 103.1 before Walker ultimately waved at a curveball way out of the strike zone and down for The Miz’s ninth punchout on the day.
Fifth inning
13 total pitches, 10 of 100 mph or better
10 four-seam fastballs, three sliders
Gorman opened by striking out on three pitches, then Winn grounded out on a slider to bring Torres to the plate.
The left-handed batter took 100.6 and 100.7 for balls to start, took a called strike and then fouled off three pitches before making contact with a 102.9-mph fastball that he sent the other way to Luis Rengifo at third base.
Rengifo made a sprawling, snowcone catch before falling down, sending Misiorowski into the sixth with a no-hitter still intact and 15 consecutive batters retired.
“The tempo felt like it was on and ready to go,” said Misiorowski. “Kind of rode the wave down the mound and figured it out.”
Sixth inning
17 total pitches, five of 100 mph or better
13 four-seam fastballs, three sliders, one curveball
Misiorowski opened with a 99.3-mph fastball to Pages then went curveball-slider-slider, with the Cardinals catcher swinging at the second slider (that was outside) and sent a 65.3-mph blooper into short right field for the first St. Louis hit on the day.
Scott followed by reaching on a force play, which worked to the Cardinals’ advantage when Wetherholt then singled on a 100.8-mph, center-cut fastball to send the speedster to third base.
Herrera then swung at a 101.1-mph fastball that was in the same location as the pitch Pages hit and grounded out to third, scoring Scott and ending Misiorowski’s scoreless innings streak at 29 ⅓.
He finished one inning away from besting Freddy Peralta for the second-longest such streak in club history.
Burleson swung at a first-pitch slider and grounded out after that.
Seventh inning
15 total pitches, nine of 100 mph or better
11 four-seam fastballs, two sliders, two curveballs
This might have been Misiorowski’s most impressive inning, considering the energy he’d expended to get to this point.
Walker did him a favor in the first at-bat by swinging at a 101.3-mph fastball way up and out of the zone and flying out to center. Gorman struck out on three pitches for the second straight time to bring up Winn.
And that’s where Misiorowski emptied the tank, throwing six straight fastballs to start the at-bat that ranged from 100.8 to 101.9 on his next-to-last pitch before Winn swung through a curveball up in the zone to make it a career-high-tying 12 strikeouts for the 24-year-old.
“That was all I had,” Misiorowski said. “It was just one of those things. You go in the dugout and they tell you the inning before, ‘Hey, this is it. Go get it.’ Kind of trust that the bullpen’s going to have your back behind you.”
Misiorowski said strengthening his lower half in the offseason was one of his focuses so that he could carry his velocity deeper into games.
“I do feel stronger,” he said. “But nothing crazy.”
Murphy was asked about Misiorowski being able to finish games as strongly as he starts them.
“He conditioned himself,” he said. “He’s put together a great lower half and now the delivery is sound. When the timing is sound the delivery is sound so the foot strike and hand is in the right position, and then you take a kid with that extension and you throw the ball 100, 101, 102 – and it’s pretty easy.
“It’s not max effort.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Jacob Misiorowski scorches Cardinals while setting MLB record
Reporting by Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
