MILWAUKEE -- Jacob Misiorowski began his fourth and final regular-season start against the Cubs in 2026 by striking out Pete Crow-Armstrong with a 103.7 mph fastball.
Then he touched 104.5 against Seiya Suzuki.
By the third inning Tuesday night, Misiorowski had thrown his 1,000th pitch of the season at 100 mph or harder. Statcast only has pitch data dating back to 2008, but it’s safe to say nobody has ever done that before.
Misiorowski’s reaction?
“Nothing,” he said. “That’s how I throw. I don’t know what to tell you. It’s cool. It’s one of those things when I’m done with my career, then I’ll think about it. Right now, that’s what I do. I throw hard. The guys on the other side expect that.”
And on a night when the Brewers eventually outlasted the Cubs in a wild 4-3 win in 10 innings, Misiorowski showed that the velocity is still there deep into the longest season of his professional career -- and so is everything else that has made his rookie season remarkable.
With a four-seam fastball that averaged 100.7 mph (0.1 mph above his season average), Misiorowski limited the Cubs to one run in a 25-pitch first inning and then rebounded to pitch 5 1/3 more scoreless frames with nine strikeouts, lowering his MLB-best ERA to 1.95 and pushing his MLB-leading strikeout total to 236.
That moved him into third place on the Brewers’ single-season strikeout list, trailing Ben Sheets (264 in 2004), Corbin Burnes (243 in 2022) and Teddy Higuera (240 in 1987).
“I thought Miz was good in the first inning,” manager Pat Murphy said. “I think he made a couple bad choices, but I think he was good in the first inning, even though he gave up the run. But he was really good after that. Established himself.”
The first inning was the only real speed bump. Suzuki doubled on a slider and later scored, and Misiorowski needed 25 pitches to escape. He acknowledged afterward that the issue was less about his stuff than getting out of his own way.
“There were some spots in the first I could not overthink and not think too much about my delivery and stuff like that,” Misiorowski said. “But it was good. I got it to work out. Kept them to a manageable spot. Worked out.”
Asked whether execution was the issue early, he added: “Yes and no. It plays a part in it. It’s more I’m overthinking everything and trying to do too much.”
That makes what followed more significant.
Misiorowski entered Tuesday coming off a slog at Wrigley Field last Wednesday, when he needed 92 pitches to get through four innings and surrendered five earned runs, matching his season high. That outing pushed him to 155 innings, already a career high, and provided another reminder of the workload he is navigating as September arrives.
Brewers catcher William Contreras pushed back before Tuesday’s game on the idea that Misiorowski should look like his most dominant self every five days.
“People outside of baseball don’t understand baseball,” Contreras said. “You don’t understand what it’s like to go through a 6-7 month season. You don’t understand the physical part of it, the tiredness that comes along with that, the mental side of it and staying engaged mentally once it comes to this part of the season.”
Brandon Woodruff put it even more succinctly: “What he’s done this year, it’s almost unfair what people think he should do every time out.”
Misiorowski understands the toll, too.
“There’s a lot of work that goes into it,” he said. “There’s stuff outside just on-the-field stuff. It’s a lot of training room and weightlifting. It’s hard work.”
Some weeks, he said, require more maintenance than others.
“Some weeks you don’t feel as good after a start and you’ve got to make a way to [make it] happen in five days and turn it around,” Misiorowski said. “Those guys back there work their ass off. They’re awesome.”
Tuesday was the turnaround.
Murphy let Misiorowski face one hitter in the seventh before pulling him at 93 pitches, saying afterward that the 24-year-old was “out of gas” and was coming out regardless of the result of that plate appearance.
Before Misiorowski left, Murphy made an extra trip to the mound with a simple message.
“It was all positive,” Misiorowski said. “It was, ‘Hey, you’re figuring it out. You’re figuring out how to throw to righties and get outs.’ It was all positive.”
Murphy sees plenty more figuring out still to come.
“He’s just scratching the surface,” Murphy said. “This kid can be really, really good. He’s worn out. We all know that. But this kid can be really, really special. He’s just learning how to pitch. He’s got electric stuff.”
And once Misiorowski’s night was over, his teammates did what they have repeatedly done behind him: They kept coming.
“It’s nothing short of electric,” Misiorowski said. “It’s everything I can ask for in teammates.”