MILWAUKEE - Jacob Misiorowski’s final regular-season start looked and felt like the kind of night that had become routine during the Brewers’ 103-win run: a crowd on its feet, a big moment on the mound, and another dominant outing from a pitcher who spent the season making the impossible seem normal.
By the time he walked off the field Sunday at American Family Field, the 24-year-old had finished the job with one last exclamation point - striking out Cardinals star Jordan Walker to close out his final tune-up before the postseason in Milwaukee’s 6-4 win.
Misiorowski’s line was as ruthless as the rest of his year. He threw 5 1/3 more scoreless innings, allowed two hits and two walks, struck out five, and reached 102.7 mph with his fastball. Over 174 2/3 innings, he finished as the Major League leader in ERA at 1.80, strikeouts with 252, WHIP at 0.80 and opponents’ average at .157.
The season put him in rare company across both Brewers history and the broader game. He became just the second pitcher in franchise history to win MLB’s ERA title, joining Corbin Burnes in 2021. And with that combination of 250-plus strikeouts and a WHIP no higher than 0.80, he joined Justin Verlander in 2019 and Pedro Martínez in 2000 as the only pitchers ever to do it.
Elias Sports Bureau also placed him in an even tighter historical club. Since 1950, only Sandy Koufax in 1965, J.R. Richard in 1976 and Mike Scott in 1986 had led the Majors in ERA, strikeouts and opponents’ average in the same season.
His numbers also stack up with some of the great run-prevention seasons in the sport’s modern era. With ERA, the comparison point starts in 1969, when MLB lowered the mound to its current height after “The Year of the Pitcher” in 1968.
The Brewers got one more reminder Sunday that their ace’s season was not just excellent, but historically loud. Every start day turned into an event. The finale was no different.
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