In Milwaukee, rookie pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, of the Brewers, diligently worked to manage the widespread excitement about his much-hyped face-off with Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes. The young prospect chose to avoid the buzz as much as possible by staying away from social media, which was flooded with discussion of their matchup. Following the Brewers’ 4-2 win over the Pirates on Wednesday, Misiorowski said, “It was just one of those things that you wanted to try and calm yourself down as much as possible and stay off the Internet because I feel like everything I swiped was me and Skenes.” Misiorowski’s stellar performance is likely to attract more attention.
Having pitched five scoreless innings, Misiorowski outshone the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year during this outing. The Brewer’s rookie boasts a 3-0 record with an impressively low 1.13 ERA. According to Sportradar, Misiorowski, who has allowed just three hits in his first three career starts over 16 innings or more, has achieved a feat not seen in the major leagues since at least 1901.
This game also set notable records. Misiorowski and Skenes commanded exceptionally high fastball velocities, averaging 99.5 mph and 98.5 mph respectively. This represents the highest average fastball speed shared by two starters in the same game since at least 2009, as per Sportradar records. Misiorowski’s fastball touched 100 mph on 19 of his 74 pitches, hitting a personal best of 102.4 mph, while Skenes reached 100 mph once in 78 pitches. The matchup showcased the most combined 100-mph pitches by opposing starters in a single game since at least 2009.
Misiorowski expressed respect for Skenes, stating, “I’ve watched plenty of his games. It’s awesome to face a guy like that and really compare yourself to some of the best.” Leading up to the game, Misiorowski seemed unaffected by the excitement surrounding their match, as noted by Brewers catcher Eric Haase. The event drew a season-best sellout crowd of 42,774 for a weekday afternoon game, eager to see if Misiorowski’s momentum would continue. His remarkable start may soon elevate Misiorowski to the level of prominence Skenes has experienced since being drafted No. 1 overall and leading LSU to a 2023 College World Series victory.
Skenes, advising Misiorowski, remarked on handling the inevitable spotlight, emphasizing, “You’ve got to protect yourself, for lack of a better term, obviously with the media… If he does what he’s supposed to do and everybody thinks he can do, that’s not going away any time soon.” Skenes, who met Misiorowski recently, offered a glimpse into the transition to stardom after experiencing his own rise, including being named NL Rookie of the Year.
During the game, Skenes struggled, recording just four innings with four strikeouts, giving away four runs, four hits, and two walks. This marked only the third instance in 40 career starts where Skenes allowed at least four runs. The Brewers capitalized significantly during a challenging second inning for Skenes, in which he faced nine batters and threw 37 pitches. Isaac Collins and Christian Yelich contributed key hits to Milwaukee’s rally.
Despite allowing only one other runner outside of the second inning and matching the second-shortest start of his career, Skenes discussed Milwaukee’s effective hitting, saying, “They did a good job of getting to some pitches. I wasn’t unhappy with the execution of all of those, there are probably a couple that could have been better but they did a good job.” In the process, his career ERA shifted slightly from 1.91 to 2.03.