MILWAUKEE – The third pitch that the Cubs saw from Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski on Friday night made it clear just how difficult the task at hand would be for the hitters.
Pete Crow-Armstrong took a hack at the fastball and fouled it back, but the data velocity that came in via Statcast registered at 105.5 mph. It was tied for the third-fastest pitch thrown since such things have been recorded (2008), and it was what Chicago was up against in this 6-2 loss to the Brewers.
“You know that the runs are going to be at a minimum,” Cubs starter Colin Rea said of Misiorowski. “The fastball is incredible. It’s electric. I felt like we put together some good at-bats against him, though. We competed. We were there. It’s stuff you’ve never seen before.”
The Cubs indeed held their own against Misiorowski, but the output proved too little to overcome a late rally from the Brewers against a fatigued Chicago bullpen. Here are three takeaways from the Cubs’ defeat in the opener of this three-game set at American Family Field:
1. Patience vs. Misiorowski
One thing the Cubs do particularly well is working the count, putting pressure on pitchers and drawing walks at a high rate. Connecting with Misiorowski’s high-octane pitches is a challenge, so making the flamethrower come into the zone is crucial.
Now, one of the impressive subplots of Misiorowski’s season has been his improvement in command. This Cubs team, however, entered the night leading the Majors with a 11.1% walk rate. The North Siders pushed Misiorowski’s pitch count to 107 through six innings and drew four walks – the same total he had issued in his previous four outings combined.
In fact, Misiorowski had only six walks within a stretch of 176 batters faced in his previous seven games, during which he spun a 0.55 ERA.
“Look, he’s hard to square up,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s been hard to make contact against. We did do a nice job.”
In the sixth inning, Alex Bregman delivered a two-out single and then Michael Busch and Seiya Suzuki worked consecutive walks to load the bases. It was a key chance for the Cubs, but Misiorowski dialed things up against Ian Happ. After a 1-2 pitch went off the knob of Happ’s bat – a near hit-by-pitch – the Cubs outfielder struck out on a 102.8 mph fastball to end the inning.
“If you make something good happen there -- whatever, walk, anything -- maybe we can tack on there,” Counsell said. “We did a pretty good job. We created some opportunities. We got one big swing. In the end, we got two runs on the board. That’s going to be tough to win games.”
2. Suzuki’s breakthrough swing
The Cubs’ inability to break things open in that sixth-inning opportunity against Misiorowski left Suzuki’s early contribution as the only breakthrough against the righty.
Misiorowski went 12 up, 12 down against Chicago in the first four frames, while leaning heavily on a heater that was clocking in at 1.4 mph faster than his season average, per Statcast. In the fifth, Suzuki put an end to any talk of a no-hitter by working the count full before ripping a slider out to right-center field for a leadoff homer in the fifth.
“He’s aggressive in the zone with all the pitches,” Suzuki said via his interpreter, Edwin Stanberry. “So today, my approach was get up in the box and not really pick one pitch, but just kind of see the ball and try to hit it.”
The blast was Suzuki’s first since June 11 – ending a drought of 49 plate appearances between homers – and his second career shot off the Brewers starter. In the second inning of Game 5 in the National League Division Series last October, Suzuki hammered a homer off Misiorowski to nearly the same section of Milwaukee’s ballpark.
3. (Nearly) three outs to three runs
Working opposite Misiorowski, Rea gave the Cubs a strong effort and lasted into the sixth inning. He logged five scoreless frames before allowing William Contreras (infield single) and Jake Bauers (walk) to reach to open the next inning.
Clinging to the 1-0 lead, Cubs manager Counsell handed the ball to reliever Ethan Roberts for the two-on, no-outs jam with Andrew Vaughn batting.
Roberts induced a liner back to the mound, caught it and then turned and fired the ball low to second baseman Nico Hoerner. Contreras was doubled off, but Hoerner’s effort to relay it in time to first for a triple play came up just short. Two pitches later, Garrett Mitchell sent an elevated cutter from Roberts out to right for a two-run, go-ahead homer that sparked a three-run inning.
“We got a great start from Colin Rea. We had a chance,” Counsell said. “We had a huge double play from Ethan and got a shot to get out of the inning. Unfortunately, we made a bad pitch. And give Mitchell credit. That just flipped the game.”