Jacob Misiorowski looked every bit like the force Pittsburgh expected Tuesday night at PNC Park, and the Brewers’ right-hander kept the Pirates from ever finding a real opening in a 5-1 Milwaukee win.
Misiorowski, who entered the game at 14-5 with an NL-best 1.95 ERA, worked five scoreless innings and trimmed his season ERA to 1.89. He allowed five hits, but the Pirates never turned those into anything meaningful after a costly baserunning mistake in the fourth inning.
Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly had warned before first pitch that the Pirates would need a disciplined plan against Misiorowski’s velocity.
“It's a challenge every time Miz takes the mound,” Kelly said pregame. “We got to be ready for the velo.
Obviously, there's a lot made of that. He's been efficient.
He's in the zone … you can't go up there and just try to outslug him.”
The Pirates saw exactly why. Misiorowski opened the night by needing just 12 pitches to set Pittsburgh down in order, and one of those offerings registered at 103.8 mph. Pittsburgh did briefly force him to labor in the second, when a walk and a hit pushed his pitch count up by 25, but Spencer Horwitz flied out to left to end that threat with a runner in scoring position.
The real missed chance came in the fourth. With runners on first and second and one out, Rafael Flores Jr. chopped a single through the infield, the ball glancing off David Hamilton’s glove and skipping past Joey Ortiz. Nick Gonzales was held at third by third base coach Tony Beasley, who said afterward he took responsibility for the decision.
“It was a big play in the game. Obviously, with Miz on the mound, we know runs are at a premium, so we had an opportunity to score a run,” Beasley said.
“I probably had the worst view on that play to anybody in the house from the third base coach's box. I see a third baseman dive, and from my vantage, the ball hit his glove and disappeared.”
Gonzales said he was frustrated, but understood the call.
“Yeah, it's tough,” Gonzales added. “Obviously, you want to score.
And playing against a really good pitcher, scoring runs is tough on that guy. So I was upset and frustrated, but Beasley couldn't see it, and that's not his fault.”
Misiorowski only got harder to handle as the night went on. His fastball was the obvious headline, but the rest of his mix kept Pittsburgh guessing too.
He threw three curveballs, striking out Konnor Griffin with one and getting a swinging strike from Brandon Lowe with another. His 10 sliders produced six strikes, and he reached 100-plus mph 43 times, with multiple pitches clocked at 99.9 as well.
Lowe later said the challenge was obvious from the box.
“How in-depth do you want to get?” said Brandon Lowe, who recorded his 30th homer of the season off lefty DL Hall but struck out twice against the Miz.
“Low release, guy throws 104 [mph], he’s 7 1/2 feet of extension. And it’s not like he’s throwing the ball down the middle.
He’s hitting corners. He’s throwing a slider at 98, a curveball at 90.
He’s got good stuff. There’s a reason he’s having the season that he’s having.
Everybody seems to struggle hitting him.”
Misiorowski had already been plenty successful against Pittsburgh before Tuesday, carrying a 2.00 ERA with 25 strikeouts in three career starts against the Pirates. He added another strong outing to that resume by allowing Milwaukee to build a 5-0 lead after four more runs crossed in the sixth.
Pittsburgh finally got on the board in the eighth, when Lowe connected for a solo homer, but by then Misiorowski had long since taken control. He finished with his 15th win of the season, and Kelly summed up the night in simple terms afterward.
“We battled, man,” Kelly said. “I think that he's really tough -- as we know in the velo -- and when he's throwing the breaking ball over the plate and getting swing and miss.”
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