Jacob Misiorowski brings record velocity and postseason questions to World Series opener
Milwaukee’s Game 1 starter has kept throwing fast, but hitters have made far more contact with his fastball in the postseason.
Jacob Misiorowski will start for the Milwaukee Brewers against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday, October 23, in Milwaukee. His fastball made him a standout during the regular season, but two short postseason starts have left a pressing question for the opener: whether he can put hitters away as effectively as he did before October.
Misiorowski’s record-setting fastball
The Associated Press reported that Misiorowski threw 1,115 pitches of at least 100 mph this season. That surpassed the previous high of 673, set by Jordan Hicks in 2018, in records dating to 2008. Misiorowski’s fastest pitch reached 105.5 mph against the Chicago Cubs on June 27. The World Series velocity records cited by AP are 101.1 mph for a starter, set by Noah Syndergaard in 2015, and 103.2 mph overall, set by reliever Aroldis Chapman in 2016.
The pace has held up in October: CBS Sports reported that Misiorowski’s fastball averaged 101.0 mph in the postseason, compared with 100.6 mph during the regular season. Its induced vertical break, a measure of how much the pitch resists dropping, fell from 14.7 inches to 13.4 inches. CBS said the reason for that change was unclear.
Why postseason hitters are making more contact
CBS Sports reported that the fastball’s swing-and-miss rate dropped from 40.2% in the regular season to 16.1% in the postseason, while its foul rate rose from 38.9% to 67.9%. Across Misiorowski’s first two postseason starts, AP counted 51 foul balls from 94 swings at his 182 pitches. The figures describe a pitcher still throwing hard but facing longer battles with hitters.
Those battles have limited his innings. CBS Sports reported that Misiorowski threw 88 pitches in four innings in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, then 94 pitches in 4⅓ innings in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. He did not complete five innings in either start. Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Thursday that Misiorowski had not been as crisp and that opponents were trying to exploit an area of his pitching, according to AP.
The opener comes 11 days after Misiorowski’s previous start, CBS Sports reported. It begins a best-of-seven series between two clubs seeking their first championship; AP said it is the first World Series since 1980 in which neither team has previously won the title.
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Sources and context
- World Series preview: Surprising Rays-Brewers showdown to open with Jacob Misiorowski’s record heatAssociated Press (republished by Yahoo Sports; canonical article URL observed as NBC Sports)
- Jacob Misiorowski gets World Series Game 1 start for Brewers as he looks to reclaim his ace stuffCBS Sports
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