105.5 mph?! The Miz elevates performance in Brewers win

MILWAUKEE -- Three pitches into Friday night's rivalry opener, Jacob Misiorowski made history. Three hours later, he reminded everyone why the radar gun isn't the most impressive part of his game. Misiorowski unleashed a 105.5 mph fastball to Pete Crow-Armstrong on the third pitch of the game, matching the third-fastest pitch recorded in the Statcast era, and then battled through one of his toughest outings in weeks to lead the Brewers to a 6-2 victory over the Cubs before a sold-out crowd of 41,021 at American Family Field. "I think I slipped a little bit on that pitch," Misiorowski said with a grin. "I think I've got a little more." The 105.5 mph heater tied Ben Joyce (Sept. 3, 2024) for the third-fastest pitch since the pitch tracking era began in 2008. Only Aroldis Chapman has thrown harder, reaching 105.8 mph in 2010 and 105.7 mph in 2016. Misiorowski's previous career high was 104.5 mph.

As eye-popping as the number was, it quickly became secondary. The Cubs made the Brewers' ace work all night. They spoiled premium velocity, extended at-bats, and finally broke through when Seiya Suzuki opened the fifth inning by launching a 90 mph slider the opposite way for a homer, ending Misiorowski's no-hit bid and giving Chicago a 1-0 lead. "They had a game plan coming in to battle me and foul stuff off," Misiorowski said. "They stuck with it, and more power to them."

The biggest moment came an inning later. After Alex Bregman singled, and Michael Busch and Suzuki worked walks to load the bases with two outs, pitching coach Chris Hook visited the mound with Misiorowski nearing 100 pitches. Rather than turn to the bullpen, the Brewers left their ace in to face Ian Happ one final time. Misiorowski answered by reaching back for 102.8 mph, blowing a four-seam fastball past Happ to end the inning. He walked off the mound pumping his fist as the crowd roared. "I think I battled pretty good," Misiorowski said. "It's always a positive to get out of a jam like that and help motivate the boys to start a rally."

That's exactly what happened. Garrett Mitchell ignited American Family Field in the bottom of the sixth, crushing a two-out, two-run homer 407 feet to right-center to put Milwaukee ahead and Misiorowski in line for a victory. Cooper Pratt followed with a walk before David Hamilton ripped an RBI triple into the left-field corner, extending the lead to 3-1. "The guts that he had in that inning... that's momentum going into that dugout as an offense," Mitchell said. "He's putting everything out there, every last pitch. That fired me up. That's a momentum shift."

Milwaukee never looked back. Jackson Chourio doubled to open the seventh before William Contreras demolished a hanging sweeper 449 feet into the Miller Lite Landing in left-center for a two-run homer, giving the Brewers a comfortable cushion. Milwaukee added another insurance run in the eighth to seal its fifth straight victory.

Manager Pat Murphy appreciated the velocity, but he was more impressed by everything else. "It wasn't a glitzy outing," Murphy said. "It's a team that knows him. They're a very good offensive team. They waited him out, got his pitch count up, got him out of the game. But that's a great outing. He turned it up a little bit and got the big punchout."

Misiorowski finished with six innings of two-hit, one-run ball, striking out eight while matching a season high with four walks on 107 pitches. He averaged 101.6 mph with his four-seam fastball, maintained his Major League-leading 1.45 ERA, and recorded his 10th consecutive start allowing two earned runs or fewer. Over those 10 starts, Misiorowski went 8-1 with a 0.54 ERA, striking out 95 batters across 66 1/3 innings while holding opponents to a .117 batting average. “When a pitch is coming in at 104 to 105 mph, that’s hard to square up,” Seiya Suzuki said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “Everybody had good swings and good at-bats, but overall, he just pitched better.”

The victory marked Milwaukee's 50th in just its 79th game, the fastest the franchise has ever reached that milestone. The Brewers improved to a Major League-best 37-16 since April 26, moved to 4-0 against the Cubs this season, and extended their winning streak to five games.