Facing Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes is one of the hardest jobs in the Major Leagues. Batters have to contend with his jaw-dropping combination of speed, movement and command, while pitchers have little margin for error if they want to beat him.
On Wednesday, Milwaukee Brewers rookie pitcher Jacob Misiorowski was tasked with facing Skenes in just his third career start, less than two weeks after his MLB debut. Given Misiorowski’s elite velocity and impressive performance over his first two outings, many baseball fans and experts dubbed his showdown with Skenes the pitching matchup of the year.
The 23-year-old flamethrower was up to the challenge, outdueling Skenes and pitching the Brewers to a 4-2 victory. He carved up the Pirates for eight strikeouts over five shutout innings, topping 100 mph on 19 of his 74 pitches.
Meanwhile, Skenes uncharacteristically struggled in his shortest start of the season, yielding four runs in four innings and notching just four strikeouts.
After the game, Misiorowski revealed how he prepared for the biggest start of his young career.
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“It was exciting. I think it was just one of those things where you wanted to try and calm yourself down as much as possible and stay off the internet,” said Misiorowski during his postgame press conference. “I feel like everything that I swiped, it was like me and Skenes, me and Skenes, me and Skenes. I had to mute it, turn it off and it was good. It was good time to spend with my girlfriend.”
It can be difficult for pro athletes to stay focused with all of the social media attention and potential distractions they have to deal with, especially for starting pitchers who have multiple days off between starts. Fortunately for Misiorowski, he was able to shut out the noise and avoid getting too nervous or excited.
If Misiorowski can beat Skenes, he can beat just about anyone. He’s undefeated through his first three starts, going 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA, a 0.63 WHIP and 19 strikeouts in 16 innings.
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With both of their teams residing in the NL Central, these two young aces will be seeing a lot of each other over the next few years. In Misiorowski’s case, he just needs to keep doing what he’s doing, especially with another tough assignment coming up next week against the New York Mets.
More Pirates: Pirates’ Paul Skenes Shockingly Outdueled By Brewers Rookie In Epic Pitching Battle
Featured image via Benny Sieu/Imagn Images