Misiorowski is historic as Brewers blank Phillies 6-0

Box Score

We’ve gotten used to the idea that when Jacob Misiorowski pitches, you might see something you’ve never seen before.

Tonight, I saw one of the greatest games ever pitched.

Misiorowski, who’d never pitched in the eighth inning before, threw a complete game shutout. He did it on just 95 pitches. He struck out 15 batters. He threw the fastest pitch ever tracked by a starting pitcher. He faced the minimum. He was one hit away from a perfect game. And he did it against a good team.

It would be fair to say that Misiorowski came out hot. He started Kyle Schwarber with five fastballs that were at least 103.4 mph, and the fifth one, which struck Schwarber out, was 104.5. That’s a new career high for Misiorowski, who breaks his own record for fastest pitch ever recorded by a starting pitcher every time he sets a new career high. Misiorowski then blew away Trea Turner, and got Bryce Harper on three pitches—two of which were fastballs over 104.

The Brewer offense opened against an opener, the lefty Tanner Banks. Christian Yelich drew a leadoff walk, but Banks came back with strikeouts of Jackson Chourio and Brice Turang. William Contreras came through with two outs, though, and lined a double over the head of right fielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. which scored Yelich from first base. Jake Bauers drew a two-out walk to bring Andrew Vaughn to the plate against the lefty, but he flew out to right to end the inning. The Brewers were on the board early, though, and handed a 1-0 lead over to the Human Flamethrower. (I’m trying it out.)

The Phillies were just as helpless in the second. Brandon Marsh struck out on three pitches. Alec Bohm fouled off two pitches before being the first Philly to put a ball in play, a harmless groundout to shortstop. Bryson Stott struck out looking on an 0-2 curveball that was overturned after a Contreras challenge. Nine pitches, nine strikes, two more strikeouts.

Milwaukee manufactured a second run in the bottom of the second inning against the Phillies’ bulk pitcher for the evening, Andrew Painter. Garrett Mitchell led off with a ground ball up the middle—Bryson Stott was able to reach it, but he was running in the wrong direction and his throw wasn’t quite in time to beat Mitchell to the bag. A David Hamilton bunt didn’t go for a hit but it did move Mitchell to second, and a Joey Ortiz groundout moved him to third. With Yelich at the plate, a Painter slider got away from catcher J.T. Realmuto, and Mitchell scored from third. Yelich grounded out to end the inning, but Milwaukee was up 2-0.

Rincones Jr. led off the third in the unenviable position of having to face Jacob Misiorowski in his first career plate appearance. He struck out on three pitches. Realmuto got a ball and fouled off a 1-2 pitch, but he struck out too. So did Justin Crawford. Misiorowski had struck out eight of the first nine batters, in utterly dominant fashion.

Chourio hit a line drive on the first pitch of the bottom of the third but hit it right at Bohm at third base, so he was the first out. Turang grounded out to first for the second out, and Contreras flew out to shallow left to end the inning.

Schwarber made the first solid contact of the game for the Phillies when he jumped on the first pitch of the fourth and lined a single into center field. But Misiorowski struck out Turner and got Harper to ground into a double play, so he’d still faced the minimum through four. Vaughn picked up a one-out walk in the bottom of the inning, and Mitchell reached when Turner couldn’t handle a ground ball. The Brewers couldn’t capitalize on the error, though, when Hamilton and Ortiz struck out.

Miz struck out his 10th batter on just the 13th Philadelphia batter of the game when Marsh struck out swinging to start the fifth. Bohm popped up to Turang for the second out, and Stott hit a fly ball a bit deeper but Bauers had plenty of room to make the catch in right field. Minimum through five for Misiorowski.

With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Turang sliced a double down the left-field line. With Contreras batting, Turang stole third, and a pitch later, Contreras walked. On the first pitch after a visit from the pitching coach, Bauers lined a ball into left that looked like it would hit the wall for a double, but it just cleared the wall and landed in the Milwaukee bullpen for a three-run homer. After a Vaughn walk, Mitchell lined out to end the inning, but Bauers’ shot extended the Brewers’ lead to 5-0.

Miz struck out Rincones Jr. for a second time to start the sixth. Realmuto hit a solid line drive to right but Bauers caught it for the second out, and Crawford struck out again. 12 strikeouts and the minimum number of batters faced through six.

Ortiz reached with one out in the bottom of the sixth—the official scorer gave Turner his second error of the night, both of which could’ve gone either way—and after a Yelich fly out, Ortiz stole second. That mattered when Chourio lined an RBI single into center field and gave the Brewers a 6-0 lead.

Misiorowski got his career-high 13th strikeout to start the seventh inning after a Contreras challenge. Turner grounded out for the second out. Harper grounded out too, and Miz was through seven innings while facing the minimum. And he’d thrown only 75 pitches.

Right-hander Chase Shugart was the new pitcher for the Phillies in the seventh. He quickly got Contreras and Bauers, and with two outs the Brewers went to pinch-hitter Sal Frelick in place of Vaughn. Frelick got jammed but snuck a pop fly over the glove of Stott for a two-out single, but Mitchell flew out to left to end the inning.

Marsh flew out on the first pitch of the eighth, which certainly didn’t hurt Misiorowski’s efficency. Bohm grounded out to first for the second out—on a pitch that was at 102.5 mph, in the eighth inning! Misiorowski struck out Stott for the third out, and he was through eight innings, had faced the minimum, and had 14 strikeouts. Words are beginning to fail.

Lefty Tim Mayza was in for the Phillies in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Ortiz lined a double into the left-field gap. After a Yelich strikeout, Chourio made good contact but flew out to center. The lead stayed at six.

Rincones Jr. helped Miz’s “Maddux” bid (a colloquial term for a shutout on less than 100 pitches) by grounding out to first on the first pitch of the inning. Realmuto grounded out to Hamilton at third. Miz started Crawford with a 103.7 mph fastball—in the ninth inning—and three pitches later blew him away with a 103.1 mph fastball.

Schwarber’s single was the only thing standing between Misiorowski and a perfect game. His 15 strikeouts were three more than his previous career high. He was still throwing over 103 at the end of the game. A guy who struggled with command as a minor leaguer didn’t get into a three-ball count all night. This was a truly legendary start, very possibly the greatest in the history of the franchise.

Offensively, Ortiz was the only player with more than one hit but Milwaukee did a goo job of picking up timely hits. Contreras, Turang, and Ortiz hit doubles in the game, while the big hit was Bauers’ three-run homer in the fifth.

What a night. The Brewers continue the series tomorrow, when Shane Drohan takes the mound against Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola. First pitch is at 6:10 p.m.