PITTSBURGH -- All-Star Game festivities don’t formally begin until Monday in Philadelphia. But Sunday afternoon’s matchup at PNC Park is as star-studded as it gets.
Pirates starter Paul Skenes (7-8, 3.58 ERA) and Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski (10-4, 1.62 ERA) will face off in the final game before the All-Star break in a National League Central clash. Both Skenes and Misiorowski worked scoreless frames in the 2025 All-Star Game to aid the National League’s victory, with Skenes going in the first inning and Misiorowski in the eighth. The two 24-year-olds were able to talk and get to know each other at the Midsummer Classic last season.
“He's always trying to learn, asking good questions, and a smart, smart kid,” Skenes said of Misiorowski.
The flame-throwing Misiorowski has taken over as the league’s premier fastball thrower, averaging 100.5 mph on his four-seam and even topping out at 105.5 mph. Misiorowski will enter the Cy Young Award-like matchup coming off a seven-inning, three-run outing in St. Louis where he struck out 11 batters.
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The pair have actually met before, the first on June 25 last season in Milwaukee, where the atmosphere at American Family Field rivaled Opening Day or a postseason game, instead of a weekday game before the All-Star break. On the mound, it was the rookie Misiorowski, making his third career start, who bested reigning NL Rookie of the Year Award winner Skenes.
Misiorowski scattered two hits and walked two while striking out eight in five innings. Skenes allowed four runs on four well-placed hits with two walks in four innings. The Brewers won, 4-2, in front of 42,774 fans -- their biggest crowd of last season at that point.
“For the national media part of it, it felt like the opening act,” said Brewers manager Pat Murphy. “It will always be big [as a matchup], but it will never be quite like that again.”
And yes, Misiorowski noticed the buzz.
“You definitely felt it,” Misiorowski said. “I jogged out on the field and the crowd kind of exploded. It was cool. Then you lock back in really quick.”
Has Misiorowski followed Skenes' season?
“I saw that he's down a little bit, but it's still 98 mph. I think he's going to be fine,” Misiorowski said. “He's doing well enough to be an All-Star, so I don't think he's doing too bad.”
Skenes remains one of the game’s best, bouncing back from a historic nine-game winless streak with two earned runs in six innings against the Braves on Tuesday in a blowout win. Before the outing, Skenes posted the worst start of his career, allowing seven earned runs in Philadelphia.
His average fastball velocity has dipped from 98.8 mph in 2024 to 97 mph in 2026. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said on Wednesday that the organization continues to look into the biomechanics behind Skenes’s decreased velocity. He added that there are slight changes in the delivery, and fatigue is possible but speculative.
Despite Misiorowski’s overall dominance, he’s allowed four home runs across his last two starts. Still, the fastball is thriving, striking out double-digit batters in both outings.
“He attacks with his stuff,” Skenes said. “It’s pretty cool, it's different, for sure.”
The elite matchup comes at a pivotal time, with the Brewers atop the NL Central and the Pirates battling for a Wild Card spot, but Skenes sees it as business as usual.
“It's just a regular game, just like any other game. Just got to pitch well,” Skenes said.