World Series 2026: Jacob Misiorowski finds a way, with another assist from the bullpen, to lead Brewers to Game 1 victory

MILWAUKEE — Jacob Misiorowski’s right arm has been the lighting rod for the 2026 Milwaukee Brewers … literally. Using whatever stat you can think of — ERA, batting average against, WHIP, strikeouts and, of course, average fastball velocity by a starting pitcher — dominance has been the name of the game for the Brewers’ 24-year-old flame-thrower.

And while the regular season saw Misiorowski consistently dominate hitters, Milwaukee’s ace has had to battle through his starts this postseason. He hasn’t steamrollered his opponents this month, as opposing lineups have made him work. Even so, there’s nobody the Brewers would rather have on the mound in Game 1 of the World Series. 

And on Friday, when they were looking to set the tone with the franchise seeking its first World Series title ever, the Brewers did what they usually do in a Misiorowski start: win.

“I think the thing that I’ve realized the most was [that] it's October baseball,” Misiorowski said after his team’s 3-2 victory in Game 1 in Milwaukee. “It doesn't matter how you get outs … just get them. There's 27 [outs] to get, and my job is to get however many I can get in my span of being out there.”

It’s a little difficult to believe that the Brewers are just three wins away from winning a championship, yet their best pitcher has made only three starts. And in those three starts, the opponents’ plan against Misiorowski was clear. Against the Padres and Dodgers in the NLDS and NLCS, both teams’ plan of attack was to grind out at-bats against the right-hander and get him out of the game early.

The AL champion Tampa Bay Rays, who have the lowest strikeout rate of any team in baseball, didn’t deviate from that plan, either. 

But this time around, it appeared that Misiorowski was aware of the other team’s plan and wanted to use it to his advantage. He allowed Tampa to put the ball in play to stay efficient. 

The first five outs of Misiorowski’s night came on balls put in play. Then he struck out Jonny DeLuca for his first punchout of the game to close the second inning. 

“He did great,” designated hitter Christian Yelich said afterward. “He did his thing, gave us a chance to win. That’s all you can ask for. He’s been big for us all year. It was nice to see him get that first inning under his belt and kinda settle down.”

One of the biggest knocks against Misiorowski this postseason has been the lack of length. His longest start coming into this Fall Classic was just 4 1/3 innings in the NLCS. On Friday, he was relatively efficient through his first three innings of work, but then a lengthy fourth inning saw the Rays push across a run on a Liam Hicks groundout, and the fifth inning featured more traffic on the bases. Suddenly, it looked like Misiorowski would fail to get through five innings again. 

Instead, Misiorowski got some timely help from his defense. After a leadoff single by Victor Mesa Jr., the Brewers got the first out on a tough play by David Hamilton and Jake Bauers, followed by a popout from Taylor Walls. Then catcher William Contreras threw out Mesa trying to steal third. That ended the inning and got his ace through five. 

“I thought Miz was great tonight,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said postgame. “What we're used to seeing in the regular season was Miz just mowing through people and having two strikeouts an inning. That's unrealistic.

“This is the best team in the American League. They proved that during the regular season and proved that in the postseason so far. One of the ways they do that is to make contact better than anybody in baseball. For Miz to go five innings the way he did, give up only a few hard contacts, only walked one guy, I think didn't give up any free bases. … We had a lot of good performances, a lot of good things.”

Misiorowski’s outing marked the first time since Sept. 15 that he completed five innings and tied him with Logan Henderson for the longest outing by a Brewers’ starter this postseason. After setting such a high bar for himself during the regular season, tossing 5 innings with 1 run allowed on 4 hits, 1 walk and 3 strikeouts might not stand out. But the Brewers’ ace is finding ways to get outs, even when he doesn’t have his Cy Young-caliber stuff. 

It’s no secret that Misiorowski is likely fatigued. Even with 12 days off between starts, the right-hander’s 188 regular-season and postseason innings in 2026 represent his most as a professional by 47 1/3 innings. While his fastball averaged around his norm for the season on Friday, he got just seven swing-and-misses.

“It's really special,” reliever Aaron Ashby said. “It’s a credit to him because it's his first time really having a full big-league season and then being relied on in the way that he's relied on. So just awesome to see it.

“He's a young kid, and I don't want to say it's easy to do, but he's got this freak ability to throw a baseball really hard, and he does it very efficiently. So he's got to be really, really tired to not throw the ball over 100 mph.”

Even with a star like Misiorowski on their side, the Brewers’ path to victory has never been placed solely on his shoulders. In fact, this postseason, Milwaukee’s bullpen has shouldered the load on their ace’s behalf. Sure enough, after Misiorowski got Game 1 to the sixth inning, the Brewers’ electric bullpen ensured that he became the first Milwaukee starter to earn a win this postseason. 

Four shutout innings by the dominant trio of Abner Uribe, Ashby and Trevor Megill locked down the game, leaving the Brewers just three victories away from a World Series title. Milwaukee has not lost a Misiorowski start this postseason.

“I'm thrilled that we got wins in every game I've been in,” he said. “It's been awesome to have the team behind me and being able to succeed. It's been outstanding.”