Misiorowski allows 2 homers, but bounces back to K 11 over 7 innings

ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals struck early. Jacob Misiorowski struck back.

After yielding a pair of home runs before securing his eighth out -- marking the first time in his budding career that Misiorowski has surrendered multiple homers in consecutive outings -- Milwaukee’s All-Star right-hander settled in to add 11 strikeouts to his Major League-leading total (167) while carrying the Brewers through the seventh inning of a 4-3 win in Game 1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

“All the dominating starts are cool, but starts like today are the ones that show you the growth," said Christian Yelich. “Everything’s not going perfect. It’s hot. It’s a day game, a doubleheader. It can go sideways on you pretty easy, and he was able to step up and really dig deep and find a way to get through seven and keep it close.

“These are the kind of starts that show you how far he’s come and what he’s becoming in the league.”

Misiorowski retired the final 14 batters he faced in his 103-pitch outing, quite a rebound after Jordan Walker hit a cutter for a two-run homer in the first inning and Iván Herrera connected with a 102.4 mph fastball for a solo shot in the third.

They were the fourth and fifth homers off Misiorowski in his last three starts against the Cubs, Reds and Cardinals, after he went 11 consecutive starts before that stretch without allowing a single home run, and only three extra-base hits in that span.

“When you get behind like that, you have to make a decision. ‘Am I going to hang in there and help my team?’” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “And he very much did. I’m as pleased with this outing as any outing he’s had.”

What did Misiorowski say to himself after the homers?

“It’s an important game, Game 1, to not burn the bullpen. That was the biggest thought of it all,” he said.

Misiorowski bounced back and so did the Brewers, who came back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 so their starter could depart with a 4-3 lead after Christian Yelich’s go-ahead double in the seventh, his third hit of the afternoon after entering the day in a 3-for-30 slump.

Misiorowski then returned for the bottom of the inning, logged his 10th and 11th strikeouts in a fourth consecutive 1-2-3 frame while touching 103.4 mph on his 102nd pitch.

“We’re not playing our best, you guys know that,” Yelich said. “We’re still finding a way to win, though. We can do a lot better in a bunch of different areas, but we find a way to do enough.”

Milwaukee’s stellar pitching staff has a lot to do with that, and Misiorowski continues to lead the way with eye-popping feats like these:

• His 57 pitches at 100.0-plus mph tied for the second most for any pitcher in the pitch tracking era, which began in 2008. It trailed only his own 58 pitches at 100.0-plus mph in his June 12 gem against the Phillies.

• His 167 strikeouts before the All-Star break are the most for a pitcher in the first half since Gerrit Cole (170) and Max Scherzer (181) in 2019, and the most ever for a Brewers pitcher in the first half. (Corbin Burnes had 144 strikeouts before the break in 2022, when he became the first Brewers pitcher ever to lead his league in strikeouts, with 243.) Misiorowski still has one scheduled start remaining on Sunday in Pittsburgh.

• Tuesday’s start made Misiorowski one of five pitchers in Brewers history with multiple career starts of seven-plus innings, no walks and double-digit strikeouts. The others are Ben Sheets, Brandon Woodruff, Burnes and Freddy Peralta.

• Take the innings out of it, and Misiorowski already has four starts this season with no walks and double-digit strikeouts. Only one pitcher has had more starts like that in a single season: Burnes, who had five en route to winning the NL Cy Young Award in 2021.

“He’s grown a lot from last year to this year,” Yelich said of Misiorowski. “He’s found himself in the big leagues. Every time he goes out there, we feel like we have a great chance to win. You have a chance to see something special every time he goes out there on the mound.”

After allowing three earned runs on three hits in seven innings, with no walks and 11 strikeouts, Misiorowski remained MLB’s leader in ERA (1.62), strikeouts, WHIP (0.76) and opponents' average (.148). He’s already been named to the NL All-Star team for the second straight season, but because he’s tentatively lined up to pitch Sunday opposite Paul Skenes, MLB announced roster replacements for both on Tuesday afternoon.

There are no numbers, and no honors, to reflect what the manager liked best about Misiorowski’s latest outing. It was the grit he showed after early adversity.

“This is what’s going to make Miz great,” Murphy said. “He was resilient.”