DENVER -- Jacob Misiorowski is quite possibly the hardest-throwing starting pitcher in baseball history.
He bolstered that notion again in the Brewers’ 7-1 win over the Rockies at Coors Field on Saturday night by unleashing a 103.7 mph pitch to Colorado’s Kyle Karros in the third inning, the fastest pitch recorded by a starter since pitch tracking began in 2008.
Misiorowski continued to set velocity-related records throughout the night, in which he threw seven innings and lowered his ERA to 1.50 for the season despite pitching in the most hitter-friendly park in the Majors. But we’ll get to those in a bit.
Because the moment in this game that the 24-year-old flamethrower will remember most -- and one that demonstrated the maturity of a young phenom who has taken the baseball world by storm with his blazing fastball -- came while Misiorowski was in a seventh-inning jam.
After striking out the first batter in the frame, Misiorowski walked Karros and gave up a single to Brett Sullivan, placing runners at the corners. With Misiorowski at 91 pitches, he began telling catcher William Contreras “no,” repeating it over and over in an attempt to keep Contreras from coming to the mound.
Then, Misiorowski looked toward his dugout and locked eyes with Brewers manager Pat Murphy. No words were spoken, but the communication between the two was crystal clear.
“He [was saying], ‘I want this, I want to stay,’” Murphy said. “The middle of the order was up, and he wanted to finish what he started.”
Beyond his competitive desire, Misiorowski was thinking about the bigger picture, something that might not get the headlines that his incredible fastball does, but is enormous for his ballclub, particularly with a bullpen that has been decimated by injuries.
This was about more than Misiorowski. And he knew that.
“I thought it was my job to get it to a point where [two relievers] could throw one inning each and make it through the game without a lot of tax on those arms. It’s just, ‘Don’t take it out of my hands.’ ... I want to get out of this inning for the boys.”
Murphy trusted his young ace, and it paid off. Misiorowski struck out Jake McCarthy and Sterlin Thompson to escape unscathed. The final pitch of his outing was delivered at 101.3 mph.
In all, Misiorowski yielded an unearned run on four hits, walking three and striking out eight. Of his 98 pitches, 52 were at 100 mph or greater, second in the pitch-tracking era only to his 57 on May 25. He also set a record with 45 pitches at 101 mph or greater.
The Brewers got a scare in the second, when Troy Johnston hit a sharp ground ball back at Misiorowski. The ball hit Misiorowski’s left calf and ended up becoming an infield single. After being checked on by the team trainer, Misiorowski threw a warm-up pitch and remained in the game.
Misiorowski ran into some trouble in the sixth, when he gave up a leadoff infield single to McCarthy before McCarthy moved to second on a wild pitch.
That’s when another test presented itself.
Misiorowski hit the next batter, Tyler Freeman, in the helmet with a 98.2 mph cutter that led to Freeman leaving the game, walking off the field under his own power. Misiorowski was visibly upset.
“Obviously, I don't want that to happen,” Misiorowski said. “… Lost the ball, lost grip on it. … [And then] I'm standing behind the mound trying to pray for him the little bit that I can.”
Misiorowski had never hit a batter in the head at the Major League level. But rather than allowing it to rattle him, he was able to regain his focus.
He got TJ Rumfield to fly out before walking Goodman to load the bases. But Misiorowski then got Johnston to fly out and Ezequiel Tovar to ground out, ending the threat.
Misiorowski has posted a 0.20 ERA over his last seven starts -- that is the third-lowest in a seven-start span (excluding openers) since 1913, when ERA became an official stat. The only two lower came the year before the mound was lowered to its current height in 1969 (Bob Gibson’s 0.14 and Don Drysdale’s 0.15).
“Check out if Miz knows who Bob Gibson is,” Murphy said after the game.
Misiorowski did know. But to him, that wasn’t the most important part of his night. That distinction belongs to the moment the ball wasn’t taken out of his hands.