What Pat Murphy said about Jacob Misiorowski should worry the rest of the NL Central
Photo by Jayden Mack/Getty Images Jacob Misiorowski turned in another standout performance at Wrigley Field on Tuesday night, and Pat Murphy’s postgame comments showed why the Milwaukee Brewers are being so cautious with his workload. The Brewers moved into first place in the NL Central with a 5-2 win over the Chicago Cubs, built largely on Misiorowski’s six scoreless innings. The right-hander struck out eight, allowed three hits and extended a remarkable run of form.
Misiorowski threw 74 pitches and came out because he had “run out of gas,” per Murphy, rather than because of cramping this time. For a pitcher riding a 24 1/3-inning scoreless streak with a 1. 89 ERA and one of the most explosive fastballs in the game, that is worth tracking.
The dominance and the workload story Misiorowski gave up three singles, walked one and threw 53 of his 74 pitches for strikes. His fastball sat between 99 and 101 mph, even on a night his top end was a touch down from usual. The 24-year-old now has 88 strikeouts in 57 innings.
Murphy said Misiorowski told him before the sixth inning he thought he could give the Brewers that frame but was not sure he had anything left after it. Misiorowski later explained that his body “hits a wall” after he empties the tank over six innings. The cramping pattern gives the update more meaning Misiorowski’s body has been part of the story before this month.
He left his May 1 start against the Washington Nationals with a right hamstring cramp after 5 1/3 no-hit innings, then left his May 13 start against the San Diego Padres after seven scoreless innings with a right quad cramp. The Brewers have already looked into the cramping, with Murphy framing it as part of Misiorowski’s body adjusting to the demands of pitching deeper into major league games. The Cubs exit fit that picture even without a fresh cramp, showing a young starter flagging his limit before it turned into something worse.