MILWAUKEE -- The Phillies don’t need Andrew Painter to be the next Jacob Misiorowski.
They would certainly sign up for it, of course. For now, though, they just want to get Painter going in the right direction.
They tried something new on Friday night -- pitching him behind an opener -- but the results were more of the same. That said, it might not have mattered what Painter did on a night when the offense generated almost nothing against Misiorowski, the Brewers phenom, in a 6-0 loss at American Family Field.
The only thing stopping Misiorowski from perfection was Kyle Schwarber's leadoff single in the fourth inning. Bryce Harper later grounded into an inning-ending double play as the Phillies sent the minimum 27 batters to the plate -- and 15 of them struck out.
Misiorowski threw the fastest pitch by any starting pitcher (104.5 mph) in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008) to strike out Schwarber in the first inning. He followed by striking out Trea Turner with a 103.5 mph pitch and Harper with a 104.1 mph pitch.
“Yeah, 104 is tough for anybody, right?” Harper said. “I mean, obviously his heater is really good. … Obviously, a great start to his career.”
It wasn’t always like this for Misiorowski, though. It was on this same date last year that he made his MLB debut as a hard-throwing 23-year-old top prospect who would go on to mostly struggle in his first taste of the big leagues.
Sound familiar?
“You look at a lot of guys, you just want them to keep getting better, right?” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said of his own 23-year-old former top prospect. “And to this point, I don't know if we've seen [that] -- this may be the start of him getting better for us.”
After a few impressive starts to begin his career last summer, Misiorowski posted a 5.40 ERA over his final 12 regular-season outings from July onwards. He pitched more than five innings in only two of those starts.
Now, Misiorowski has a 1.39 ERA through 14 starts after turning in one of the best performances against the Phillies in recent memory.
That’s not to say the Phillies expect Painter to have a sub-1.50 ERA at this time next year. But they do need to keep seeing improvements from the youngster who was visibly frustrated following his latest stumble.
There were a few encouraging signs against the Brewers.
Though he didn’t hit 104.5 mph -- nor did he throw 58 pitches at 100-plus mph -- like Misiorowski, Painter did throw the fastest pitch of his young big league career (99.1 mph). He also threw first-pitch strikes to 16 of his 24 batters, an area of emphasis coming in.
Still, Painter allowed five runs off five hits and three walks over five innings. He is 1-7 with a 6.43 ERA through his first 13 career appearances (11 starts).
“I think that’s a big thing, obviously, not looking at your numbers,” Harper said. “ … Just throw that out the door, don't worry about those numbers. New start every time he goes out there, and just find the success that you want to have.”
And that the Phillies need him to have.
“I think I said it in camp, right? I said, ‘We need him,’” Harper said. “And we still do. Obviously, he's still in the beginning of his career. He's going to have success. He's going to get better.”
Mattingly said he’s “not really” concerned about Painter’s confidence level, though it’s something the team will continue to monitor.
Painter’s next chance to move in the right direction lines up for Wednesday afternoon against the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. It’s unclear at this point whether that will come behind an opener or as a traditional starter.
Either way, he says he’ll be ready for it.
“You have to be confident every time you go out there,” Painter said. “So every time I get that ball, I'm grateful to toe that rubber. That doesn't change.
“If you go out there and you don't throw stuff with conviction, I think you've already lost the battle. So just got to take it and move on.”