ST. PETERSBURG -- Jacob Misiorowski was still marveling at the cheers late on Wednesday evening, even after three games’ worth of roars cascading from Tropicana Field’s third-base seats: encouragement from thousands of ticket-holders with Wisconsin addresses and championship dreams.
“I’m just so overjoyed,” Misiorowski said, standing in left field, his cleats speckled with blue, yellow and silver confetti. “I can’t believe that we’re here. We’re doing this.”
They sure are. The Brewers are World Series champions, having celebrated their 4-1 victory over the Rays deep into Thursday morning, and it makes sense that the box score from the franchise's first title will credit Misiorowski as the winning pitcher.
“I think it is fitting,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “He had an incredible year for us. It isn’t easy for a young kid with that much expectation. Every time he goes out and doesn’t touch 105 [mph], people are like, ‘What’s wrong?’”
Game 5 wasn’t Misiorowski’s most dominant start of the season, lacking the trademark swing-and-miss that made him the National League’s presumptive Cy Young Award favorite. It also ended earlier than he would have liked -- a right calf cramp forced Misiorowski to exit in the sixth inning.
Yet it may turn out to be his favorite, especially when he finds out what’s going on back in Milwaukee.
“It’s so crazy,” Misiorowski said. “The city, I bet you they’re burning it down right now. I can’t wait to get back there when we land. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Making his second World Series start and the fourth in this postseason, Misiorowski said that his “heart was racing” as he walked to the mound in the first inning, He brought the heat and maintained it, averaging 101.1 mph with his fastball.
But he didn’t record a strikeout until the fourth inning -- the first time in his career that it has taken that long. Still, he held the Rays to two hits, a walk and a hit batter in an 86-pitch effort.
“He was focused beyond belief. He knew the responsibility,” Murphy said. “He knew the standard we set. He knew we were going to be the last man standing at some point, whether it was tonight or two days from now.”
One day after Murphy declined to use his ace in relief to protect a late one-run lead, “The Miz” delivered everything his team needed to win Game 5.
Misiorowski’s biggest challenge of the night came in the fourth inning, when Chandler Simpson singled and advanced to second on a Sal Frelick error, giving Tampa Bay runners at second and third with two outs.
Ben Williamson grounded out to third base to end the inning, then Misiorowski set the Rays down in order during the fifth, punctuating his strikeout of Yandy Díaz with an emphatic fist pump.
During the cramping issue, the Brewers brought Misiorowski a beverage and he tossed one warm-up pitch before wincing in apparent discomfort. JoJo Romero relieved Misiorowski to finish the sixth.
“I’m happy I left it all out on the field,” Misiorowski said. “I obviously wish I could have gotten one more out, but it is what it is. We got the win.”
The performance capped a season in which Misiorowski went 16-5 with a Major League-leading 1.80 ERA during the regular season, pacing the circuit with 252 strikeouts, a 232 ERA+ and 13.0 strikeouts per nine innings. He went 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA in four postseason starts (19 IP).
“He deserves everything that's coming his way,” said catcher and World Series MVP William Contreras. “He deserves the Cy Young that's coming his way and all the success he had this year.”
Added Murphy: “I’ve got news for you, he's not even scratching the surface of how good this kid can be. It's not even scratching the surface. He's got so much more to work on, and he kind of has an inkling of that.
“He won the trust of the players this year. They saw him work. They saw him come in 30 pounds heavier. They saw the work he does in between his starts. And when you win that trust -- I don't care how talented you are, when you win that trust, you can help us.”
Though he didn’t realize it at the time, Misiorowski exited to dual standing ovations: one from the third-base side of the Trop, filled with Brewers fans all week, and another from the sold-out watch party at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
“I was like, ‘Holy cow, what are we doing? We’re in Tampa. What have we got going on?’” Misiorowski said.
That answer became obvious just a few innings later. The Brewers are throwing one of the biggest parties that Florida’s Treasure Coast has ever seen, and it may be only a warm-up act for what awaits the Miz in MKE.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Misiorowski said, “and it’s amazing that it’s finally happening.”