Brewers rookie sensation Jacob Misiorowski discovered the unforgiving nature of major league pitching on Monday night, but his response demonstrated a veteran’s composure.
Previously undefeated with a pristine 0.56 ERA in his first three home starts, Misiorowski faced a tumultuous first inning against the Chicago Cubs. In a crucial game for first place in the NL Central before a sellout crowd at American Family Field, the 23-year-old’s outing began to unravel.
After a bloop single and a walk, a sharp liner from Seiya Suzuki struck him on the shin. Although he managed to strike out the next batter, a wild pitch on the play allowed a run to score. Moments later, Misiorowski fielded a grounder, but his knee buckled as he made an errant throw to first, permitting two more runs. The grueling inning concluded after 40 pitches, capped by a 10-pitch strikeout of Nico Hoerner.
“It was a long inning and long innings suck,” Misiorowski said. “Your legs start feeling a little loose and every pitch seems to be getting away just a little bit.”
Despite the early adversity, he settled in spectacularly. Misiorowski retired the next 10 consecutive batters, efficiently using just 40 pitches over the following three innings.
His resilience allowed the Brewers’ offense to mount a comeback. In the third inning, they rallied for four runs against Matthew Boyd to seize a 4-3 lead, highlighted by Christian Yelich’s RBI double and a two-run single from Isaac Collins.
“Just trust that the team is behind me and is going to help me out, and they did,” Misiorowski said of his mindset after the first. “I thought I did my job of getting us into a position to succeed.”
Manager Pat Murphy praised the rookie’s resolve. “It’s like a fighter getting knocked down in the first round and he had to regroup,” Murphy said. “And that he did. It just goes to show you the kid can pitch, not just throw. He’ll remember this outing and he’s going to learn from it.”
Veteran leader Christian Yelich was even more impressed. “I told him it was my favorite start he’s had in the big leagues,” Yelich said. “This shows you a lot about what he’s made of. It can be messy sometimes. You’ve got to reach back and compete when that kind of stuff happens.”
Misiorowski finished with a line of three runs on three hits over four innings, with two walks and seven strikeouts. The Brewers secured the 8-4 victory with solo home runs from Andrew Vaughn and Sal Frelick, before a two-run shot by Yelich in the seventh provided the final cushion.
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