Brewers, Braves Set 79-49 vs 75-53 Showdown as Misiorowski Faces Sale

Q: How did Misiorowski outduel his childhood idol Chris Sale despite experiencing a concerning drop in pitching velocity?

Misiorowski outdueled Chris Sale by pitching rather than overpowering. Even with his fastball a tick down and his body feeling “a little off,” he adjusted on the fly, leaned heavily on his secondary stuff and still gave Milwaukee six scoreless innings in a 2-1 win. Instead of relying on his usual elite four-seamer, Misiorowski used a season-high share of sliders and cutters — nearly 40% of his 96 pitches. His fastball still touched 103.1 mph, but it averaged about 100.1, one of the lower marks of his season, and his whiff rate was also below his norm. Recognizing that, he and catcher William Contreras changed the attack plan, mixing speeds and movement to keep Atlanta from squaring him up. That adjustment was the difference. Misiorowski allowed four hits, walked two and struck out six over six shutout innings, while Sale was nearly as sharp but gave up the game’s only two runs in the third. Milwaukee scratched those runs out with three singles, an RBI hit from Contreras and an RBI groundout by Andrew Vaughn. Manager Pat Murphy called it a grind, and that was the point: Misiorowski showed he could win without his best velocity. He also got key defensive help, notably Luis Lara’s leaping catch at the wall in the sixth after Michael Harris II’s double, which helped preserve the shutout. Against the pitcher he idolized growing up, Misiorowski won because he adapted, executed and limited damage better than Sale.

3 articles · Updated · Brew Crew Ball · Aug 21

Jacob Misiorowski and Chris Sale headline Friday’s Brewers-Braves matchup, bringing a 1.75 ERA against a 2.16 ERA in a game framed as a likely pitchers’ duel.
Milwaukee enters at 79-49 after scoring freely against Seattle, but that offense faces a stiffer test against Sale and a Braves rotation that has posted strong numbers all season.
Christian Yelich and Garrett Mitchell are out of the Brewers lineup, with manager Pat Murphy sitting the two left-handed bats against the tough left-hander Sale.
Atlanta counters with a lineup led by Ronald Acuna, Drake Baldwin and Matt Olson, setting up a marquee ace-vs.-ace meeting between two National League contenders.