ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jacob Misiorowski pitched with poise when he couldn't overwhelm with punishing heat, overcoming Tampa Bay batters and the Tropicana Field mound to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to their first World Series title.
On a night when he tied his career low with only two strikeouts, baseball's hardest-throwing starting pitcher threw two-hit ball over 5 2/3 scoreless innings before leaving because of a leg cramp with a four-run lead.
The Brewers went on to a 4-1 victory in Game 5.
Completing a record-setting season that likely will earn him the NL Cy Young Award next month, the 24-year-old right-hander reached 100 mph with 51 of 86 pitches, including 30 of 101 mph or more, an even dozen that reached 102 mph and a pair of 103 mph offerings in the first inning.
Tampa Bay's grounds crew made several trips to the mound to fill in a divot in the mound that the wiry 6-foot-7 pitcher created with the long stride of his left foot. He finally came out, accompanied by head athletic trainer Brad Epstein, after a cramp in his right calf — similar to an ailment that forced Misiorowski from a pair of starts in May.
He went 2-0 with a 0.84 ERA, striking out just five in 10 2/3 innings, showing the toll of pitching 193 2/3 innings over the regular season and postseason — up from 141 1/3 innings last year.
The Miz made the 2025 All-Star team just a month after his debut and went 5-3 with a 4.36 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 66 innings, then dominated batters this season when he went 16-5 and became just the fourth pitcher since 1950 to lead the majors in ERA (1.80), strikeouts (252) and opponents’ batting average (.157).
Misiorowski threw 1,115 pitches 100 mph or higher this year, shattering the old high of 673 by Jordan Hicks of St. Louis in 2018 — including a 105.5 mph blazer to the Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong on June 27..
But he didn't overwhelm as much in the postseason, when batters managed to foul off many of his pitches.
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