Misiorowski Shatters His Record 4 Times in First Inning

Jacob Misiorowski needed just one pitch to turn heads—and 95 to deliver one of the most overpowering starts baseball has seen. The 25-year-old Brewers right-hander opened Friday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies with a 104.5mph fastball to strike out Kyle Schwarber, the fastest pitch ever recorded by an MLB starter, then finished with his first career shutout in a 6-0 win. His line bordered on unreal, Yahoo Sports reports: 15 strikeouts, one hit, no walks, no runs, and a "Maddux" (shutout under 100 pitches), while facing the minimum 27 batters thanks to a double play.

Misiorowski broke his own velocity mark four times in the first inning alone, with his slowest heater registering 102.3mph and several more topping 104. He averaged 101.7mph for the night, fired 58 pitches at triple digits, and never went to a three-ball count. Phillies hitters swung and missed at 24 of 41 swings against his fastball, and he finished with more whiffs (26) than balls (21). He now leads qualified MLB starters with a 1.34 ERA, and has allowed one earned run over his last 54 innings—a stretch MLB.com notes is unmatched since earned runs were first tracked in 1913.

It was a year ago when the Phillies didn't appreciate Misiorowski being named to the National League All-Star team—though some of that had to do with the way MLB made the decision, Sports Illustrated points out. "When I walked out for the ninth, my whole body shivered and the adrenaline really kicked in," said Misiorowski, per ESPN. In his 27 major-league starts, he had never pitched past the seventh inning. He ended the game with a strikeout of Justin Crawford. "There was no chance I was going to throw anything other than a heater right there," Misiorowski said. "I was amped up."