MILWAUKEE -- Jacob Misiorowski needed just one pitch to make World Series history.
The Brewers’ flamethrowing ace opened Game 1 of the World Series against the Rays on Friday night with a 103.5 mph four-seam fastball to Yandy Díaz, immediately establishing a new standard for velocity on baseball’s biggest stage.
The pitch sailed well above the strike zone. But the message was unmistakable.
Misiorowski had brought his heat to the Fall Classic.
Yet by the time the Brewers secured a heart-stopping 3-2 victory at American Family Field, the most impressive part of Misiorowski’s night wasn’t necessarily how hard he threw.
It was how he continued to find ways to get outs, even when the overpowering dominance that defined his regular season wasn’t quite there.
“I thought Miz was great tonight,” manager Pat Murphy said. “What we’re used to seeing in the regular season was Miz just mowing through people and have two strikeouts an inning. That’s unrealistic.”
And the Rays made sure of that.
Misiorowski worked five innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out three. He generated just 17 swings and misses on 78 pitches, a far cry from the pitcher who led the Majors with 252 strikeouts and a 1.80 ERA during the regular season.
But for the third consecutive series opener this postseason, Misiorowski gave the Brewers a chance to win. This time, he earned his first career playoff victory, becoming the first Milwaukee starting pitcher to record a win this October.
“Yeah, not perfect,” Misiorowski said, “but good enough to get a win.”
Perhaps no sequence better illustrates the challenge Misiorowski faced than his two encounters with Rays slugger Junior Caminero.
In the first inning, with two runners aboard following singles by Jonathan Aranda and Chandler Simpson, Misiorowski escaped trouble when Caminero lined into an inning-ending 5-4 double play.
Three innings later, Caminero made sure the result would be different.
With Aranda on first and one out in the fourth, Misiorowski fell behind 2-0 before challenging Caminero with a 101.5 mph fastball over the middle of the plate.
Caminero didn’t miss.
The 22-year-old crushed a line drive toward center field at 112.7 mph off the bat with a launch angle of just 13 degrees. It was struck so hard, and on such a low trajectory, that Garrett Mitchell initially appeared to have a chance to make the play.
Instead, the baseball kept carrying, sailing over Mitchell’s head for a double that put runners on second and third.
“You don’t see many people hit a baseball like that,” Mitchell said. “It’s low on a line, and it just stays up and continues to carry. … It was a great swing. It was crazy.”
Liam Hicks followed with an RBI groundout, cutting Milwaukee’s lead to 2-1.
It was the only run Misiorowski surrendered, but the encounter offered another reminder of how thin the margins have become for the young ace.
After dominating lineups throughout the regular season, Misiorowski has encountered a different challenge this October. Opponents have made more contact, extended at-bats and forced him to work harder for outs.
And even without his usual strikeout totals, Misiorowski still had plenty of historic velocity.
His opening 103.5 mph fastball surpassed the previous World Series record of 103.2 mph, set by Aroldis Chapman for the Cubs in Game 2 of the 2016 Fall Classic. The new high mark dates to the beginning of pitch tracking in 2008.
Misiorowski also threw 40 pitches at 100 mph or harder, the most in a single World Series game during the pitch-tracking era. All four postseason outings featuring at least 30 triple-digit pitches have now come from Misiorowski.
But Friday wasn’t about chasing those numbers.
“I think the thing that I realized the most was October baseball,” Misiorowski said. “It doesn’t matter how you get outs. It’s just to get them.”
And with the top of Tampa Bay’s lineup looming for a third look in the sixth inning, including another potential encounter with Caminero, Murphy decided 78 pitches were enough.
For Misiorowski, it was another lesson in what it takes to pitch deep into October. The fastball remains extraordinary, but against the best hitters in baseball, velocity alone isn’t always enough.
And if the World Series continues the way Game 1 unfolded, there could be another encounter with Caminero.
Even Murphy’s son, Jaxon, seemed to recognize the threat.
During Murphy’s postgame press conference, his children joined him at the podium (which has become tradition). When the manager asked who had played well, Jaxon Murphy mentioned Christian Yelich before volunteering another name.
“Junior Caminero was good.”
Murphy slammed his hands on the podium in disgust.
“You’re always talking about the other team!”
Jaxon wasn’t wrong.
Caminero had provided one of the night’s most impressive swings. Misiorowski had provided one of its most important performances. And the two could potentially meet again.
And for all the history he made with his first pitch, Misiorowski’s biggest accomplishment came five innings later, when he handed the baseball to Milwaukee’s bullpen with a lead.