NEW YORK − Sooner or later, it was bound to happen: Someone would hit Jacob Misiorowski.
The Milwaukee Brewers rookie flamethrower proved fallible in his fourth major-league start, surrendering a grand slam during a five-run second inning and failing to pitch out of the fourth inning in a 7-3 loss to the New York Mets in the second half of a doubleheader at Citi Field July 2.
Misiorowski had been nothing but electric to start his career, becoming the first pitcher in the modern era (since 1900) to have more wins (2) than hits allowed (1) through two starts and as many wins (3) as hits allowed (3) after three starts.
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In front of 41,123 New Yorkers, though, it was the Mets offense that provided the sparks.
Five straight Mets hitters reached with two outs against Misiorowski in the second. Brandon Nimmo provided the crushing blow with a grand slam before Francisco Lindor followed with a solo shot of his own moments later.
The Brewers never recovered despite a pair of late threats and dropped a half-game back of the Mets for the National League’s top wild-card spot just hours after taking over first place with a 7-2 win in the first game of the doubleheader.
Christian Yelich breaks the shutout, then Jackson Chourio joins in
It’s looking more and more like Christian Yelich is going to notch his first 20-homer season since 2019.
The Brewers designated hitter sent out his 17th homer of the year with a 387-foot blast to left-center against Mets righty Blade Tidwell to finally get Milwaukee on the board in the sixth.
Three pitches later, Jackson Chourio followed with his 14th homer of the year, a line-drive rope that traveled 401 feet to right-center.
The Brewers drew within two runs when Rhys Hoskins scored on a Joey Ortiz soft groundout later in the inning, although Eric Haase struck out representing the tying run for the third out. Anthony Seigler notched his first career hit with a single off reliever Dedniel Nunez that moved Hoskins to third.
New York got one of the runs back in the bottom half of the sixth that saw three Brewers pitchers combine for three outs, two hits and a walk.
Misiorowski unable to get through four
It was an early shower night for Misiorowski, who handed the ball over to manager Pat Murphy with two outs in the fourth inning and 72 pitches.
Misiorowski struck out just two, both in the first inning, walked three and gave up five hits in his first “Welcome to the big leagues” outing.
Diminished command and velocity…and bad results for Misiorowski in second inning
For the first time in his big-league career, Misiorowski has gotten hit.
It all fell apart for Misiorowski after getting the first two outs of the second inning, culminating in back-to-back home runs, including a Brandon Nimmo grand slam.
Misiorowski walked the Mets’ 7 and 8 hitters as his velocity began to dwindle a bit, then made an ill-advised attempt to snag a one hopper back to the mound off the bat of Hayden Senger. The ball deflected off Misiorowski’s glove and eluded Brice Turang for an infield hit.
Then came trouble. Major trouble.
Nimmo lofted a first-pitch slider high into the New York air and it kept sailing until it landed just over the fence in right for a grand slam. That one swing put twice as many runs on Misiorowski’s ledger as he had allowed through 17 big-league innings.
It didn’t end there, either. The very next hitter, Francisco Lindor, sent a rocket out to right on a 97.4 mph fastball from Misiorowski to make it 5-0.
Misiorowski threw five fastballs that registered below 97 mph in the inning, though the slider Nimmo hit out was at 95.7 mph. He had thrown all of four fastballs slower than 97 mph through his first three starts.
He didn’t register a single swinging strike in the inning, either.
Misiorowski looked fine in the first inning
Before things went haywire, it was all gas early for Misiorowski, who reached triple digits with his four-seam fastball six times in a scoreless first.
Misiorowski opened his evening with a four-pitch strikeout of Brandon Nimmo, capping it with a 100.6 mph heater for a check-swing strike three up and out of the zone. Juan Soto worked him for a six-pitch walk with two outs but Misiorowski ended the inning with emphasis by getting to swing through 99.5 on the outside corner.
Misiorowski has now thrown 31 pitches at 100+ mph in the first inning this year, second-most in baseball behind Hunter Greene’s 36. Nobody else has more than four.
Misiorowski didn’t even touch 99 mph after the first.
What time is the Brewers game today?
Time: 6:10 p.m. CT.
What channel is the Brewers game on today?
TV channel: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin.
Brewers lineup
Mets lineup
Brewers schedule
Brewers at Mets, 6:10 p.m. July 3. Milwaukee RHP José Quintana (6-2, 3.30) vs. New York Mets TBA. TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mets 7, Brewers 3: Jacob Misiorowski experiences first speedbump as New York hits him around
Reporting by Curt Hogg, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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