Misiorowski makes history with 11 no-hit innings to start career
MINNEAPOLIS -- Jacob Misiorowski made a BIG SPLASH IN HIS MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT. His encore performance on Friday was even more memorable.
In one of the greatest sequels since “The Godfather Part II,” Misiorowski threw six perfect innings before finally giving up his first hit and run as a Major Leaguer in the BREWER'S WIN at Target Field. A walk to Byron Buxton and Matt Wallner’s two-run moonshot in the seventh inning were the only flaws in Misiorowski’s performance.
The 23-year-old right-hander and Brewers No. 4 prospect dazzled in his first outing with Milwaukee, tossing five hitless innings against the Cardinals on June 12. His scheduled second start in Chicago against the Cubs was rained out on Wednesday, but the extra rest didn’t faze him.
Misiorowski struck out six and walked just one in six-plus innings against the Twins. The 11-inning hitless streak to open a career is the longest by exclusively a starting pitcher in the Modern Era (since 1900).
Before the game, Brewers manager Pat Murphy was asked if he was concerned about the sprained right ankle and cramping that limited Misiorowski to five innings in his debut. That appeared to be the last thing on Murphy’s mind.
“I’m more concerned with his response,” Murphy said. “You had all this hype for all these months and you get here and your first outing is against a really good club. You pitch, your surface line is five innings, no hits. The team wins. You know, it’s pretty ridiculous.”
It would be hard to find fault in Misiorowski’s response. He used his entire arsenal to flummox the Twins. In the first inning alone, he struck out Wallner on an 88 mph curveball, then Willi Castro screwed himself into the ground while striking out on a 95.5 mph slider
He got his next three strikeouts on his four-seam fastball, which topped out at 102.1 mph on Friday. And just for good measure, his final strikeout came when Kody Clemens couldn’t check his swing on a 94.4 mph changeup.
When he wasn’t striking out Minnesota batters, he was limiting them to soft contact. Through the first six innings, the Twins hit just four fair balls with an exit velocity over 90 mph. Misiorowski induced six groundouts and six outs through the air to go with his six strikeouts.
The Twins didn’t really come close to a hit against the 6-foot-7 rookie in those first six innings. Their best-hit ball was a 102.8 mph line drive to left field by Ryan Jeffers in the fifth inning. Isaac Collins got a great jump on the ball and made a sliding catch to keep the perfect game intact.