Jacob Misiorowski's first pitch of the 2026 World Series came in at 103.5 miles per hour.
That four-seamer to Yandy Diaz was a ball, but it certainly set the tone for the night. The Milwaukee Brewers right-hander made his longest postseason start against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 on Friday night at American Family Field. He held Tampa Bay to one run on four hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out three.
Misiorowski threw 37 pitches at 100 mph or faster out of 78. His four-seamer averaged 101.2 mph and 10 of them reached at least 102. None were faster than the opener, according to StatCast.
Velocity has never been the question for the 6-foot-7 Misiorowski. He went 16-5 this season and led the majors in ERA (1.80) and strikeouts (252), throwing his fastball harder on average than any other starter in the league. The question this October was how long can he stay on the mound.
He made Friday's start on 11 days' rest. In his first two starts this postseason, high pitch counts kept him from finishing five innings. He threw 88 pitches over four innings in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres. Then he needed 94 pitches for 4 ⅓ innings in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series, which the Brewers went on to sweep against the Dodgers.
Misiorowski was more efficient Friday night. He went to his four-seam fastball and mxed in his cutter, slider and an occasional curveball. That helped him get through five, tying the longest postseason start of his career. He pitched five innings and struck out nine in a relief appearance in Game 3 of the 2025 NLCS at Dodger Stadium.
The Rays put runners on against him right away Friday. Jonathan Aranda lined a single on a 101.3 mph fastball and Chandler Simpson followed with a slapped single to left. Junior Caminero lined into a double play to end the threat. Misiorowski retired seven consecutive Rays after that.
Tampa Bay broke through in the fourth. Aranda drew a walk and Caminero turned on a 101 mph fastball for a double before Liam Hicks brought in the Rays' first run with a groundout.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How did Miz do in World Series? Final stats, velocity from Game 1 outing