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ST. LOUIS -- The Brewers will have their ace on the mound for the start of the toughest day of the toughest stretch of their season.
Jacob Misiorowski is slated to start Game 1 of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, part of a five-game series over four days during a run of 18 games over 17 consecutive game days leading into the All-Star break. It’s no accident. Milwaukee has come to expect Misiorowski to deliver quality innings in bulk.
“You usually like your starter to not just sit down there” waiting for Game 2, manager Pat Murphy said. “It’s easier to just get him out there and get it going. You might say, ‘Well, what about the second starter?’ Well, it’s usually a guy that’s your sixth man in the rotation and is more used to being knocked around, so to speak, meaning, sent to Triple-A, sent back, sent to Arizona, whatever. That’s usually the deciding factor.”
Those factors were further indication that the Brewers plan to activate left-hander Robert Gasser to start Game 2 of the doubleheader. He was optioned to the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League Brewers last week but traveled with the big league team from Phoenix to St. Louis on Sunday night. Right-hander Logan Henderson, who is on the 15-day IL with a low back strain, is also with the big league team at Busch Stadium.
So, the Brewers felt content with the state of their pitching as this busy week began, even after Kyle Harrison (2 2/3 innings), Brandon Woodruff (3 2/3 innings) and Brandon Sproat (four innings) all went short while Milwaukee took two of three games from the D-backs during a somewhat sloppy series at Chase Field.
Going into the Cardinals series, was length the priority for Brewers pitchers?
“It’s not about needing innings; it’s about quality innings,” Murphy said. “We’re trying to win the game. Yes, we all understand what’s out there, and the possibilities, but I promise [on Tuesday] we’ll show up with 13 pitchers, and then we’ll have an extra pitcher [for the doubleheader].
“Somehow, somebody’s going to have to step up.”
Misiorowski has done that often this season, even though the team is a pedestrian 10-7 when he’s on the mound compared to 45-26 behind everyone else entering Shane Drohan’s start on Monday night.
That’s on the offense, because Misiorowski has done his part. He will go into Tuesday’s matinee as MLB’s leader in ERA among qualifiers (1.45), strikeouts (156), WHIP (0.78) and batting average against (.150). Corbin Burnes is the only pitcher in franchise history to lead his league in ERA or strikeouts. He led the way with a 2.43 ERA in 2021, the year Burnes won the National League Cy Young Award, then led the NL with 243 strikeouts in '22.
Speaking of franchise history, Misiorowski over the weekend became the first Brewers pitcher to make the All-Star team in each of his first two Major League seasons. That’s its own rare company.
Only eight pitchers have done that in the history of the All-Star Game: The Pirates’ Paul Skenes (first three seasons from 2024-current), the Rangers’ Yu Darvish (first three seasons from 2012-14), the Athletics’ Andrew Bailey (2009-10), the Mets’ Dwight Gooden (first three seasons from 1984-86), the Tigers’ Mark Fidrych (1976-77), the Mets’ Tom Seaver (first seven seasons from 1967-73) and Cleveland’s Herb Score (1955-56).
What makes Year 2 all the more satisfying for Misiorowski, he said Monday upon learning this news, is that he was voted onto this year’s NL squad via the players' ballot. Last year, he was added to the team by MLB.
“It just shows that people in the league understand that last year wasn’t just a gift,” Misiorowski said. “I think everyone realizes I deserved it last year. It’s cool.”