Sunday afternoon at PNC Park has the feel of a special event before the All-Star break even officially gets rolling in Philadelphia. The setting is a National League Central showdown, but the real draw is on the mound: Pirates ace Paul Skenes against Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski.
It’s a meeting of two 24-year-olds who already know each other a little from the 2025 All-Star Game, when both threw scoreless innings to help the National League win. Skenes worked the first inning, Misiorowski handled the eighth, and the two spent time talking and getting acquainted during last season’s Midsummer Classic.
“He's always trying to learn, asking good questions, and a smart, smart kid,” Skenes said of Misiorowski.
Misiorowski has turned himself into the sport’s most electric fastball arm, averaging 100.5 mph on his four-seamer and reaching 105.5 mph. He comes into the matchup after a seven-inning, three-run outing in St. Louis, a start in which he struck out 11.
This isn’t the first time these two have crossed paths. Their previous meeting came on June 25 last season in Milwaukee, in a game that felt far bigger than a typical weekday before the All-Star break. Misiorowski, then a rookie making just his third career start, got the better of reigning NL Rookie of the Year Award winner Skenes.
Misiorowski allowed two hits and two walks while striking out eight over five innings. Skenes gave up four runs on four well-placed hits and two walks in four innings. Milwaukee won 4-2 before 42,774 fans, which was the Brewers’ largest crowd of last season at that point.
“For the national media part of it, it felt like the opening act,” said Brewers manager Pat Murphy. “It will always be big [as a matchup], but it will never be quite like that again.”
Misiorowski felt the noise that night, too.
“You definitely felt it,” Misiorowski said. “I jogged out on the field and the crowd kind of exploded.
It was cool. Then you lock back in really quick.”
He’s also kept tabs on Skenes this season.
“I saw that he's down a little bit, but it's still 98 mph. I think he's going to be fine,” Misiorowski said. “He's doing well enough to be an All-Star, so I don't think he's doing too bad.”
Skenes, for his part, remains one of the game’s top arms even after a rough stretch. He snapped a historic nine-game winless streak with two earned runs in six innings against the Braves on Tuesday in a blowout win. That came after the worst start of his career, when he allowed seven earned runs in Philadelphia.
His average fastball velocity has dropped from 98.8 mph in 2024 to 97 mph in 2026, and Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Wednesday the club is still examining the biomechanics behind the dip. Cherington added that there are slight changes in the delivery, while fatigue is possible but only speculative.
Misiorowski has been overpowering overall, though he has allowed four home runs over his last two starts. Even so, the strikeouts keep piling up, with double-digit punchouts in both outings.
“He attacks with his stuff,” Skenes said. “It's pretty cool, it's different, for sure.”
The timing only adds to the intrigue, with Milwaukee leading the NL Central and Pittsburgh in the mix for a Wild Card spot. Skenes, though, is treating it like any other start.
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