Misiorowski’s first rough start leads to Brewers’ loss in second game of doubleheader

Misiorowski surrenders a grand slam early in loss to Mets on Wednesday night in Queens

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers have been fortunate to witness a historic start to Jacob Misiorowski’s career, but eventually, that first reality check came with a grand slam against the New York Mets in the second game of the doubleheader on Wednesday night.

The sensational young pitcher’s frequently discussed control was more of an issue in this game than in recent starts. He threw barely more than half his pitches for strikes and lacked his trademark swing-and-miss stuff, tallying only two strikeouts.

But the heartbreaking moment in this start, the grand slam he surrendered, came in an unfortunate situation. After walking two batters with two outs, Misiorowski had a chance to escape the inning on a groundball chopped up the middle. Instead, the ball tipped off his glove, spewing towards second base, just inches outside of Brice Turang’s reach. The infield hit loaded the bases, bringing up Brandon Nimmo, who rocked Misiorowski for a grand slam on a first-pitch slider over the zone.

It didn’t end there as Misiorowski gave up a home run to the very next hitter, Francisco Lindor. The Mets leaped ahead with a 5-0 lead in just the second inning of the game. With few easy outs, Misiorowski struggled through just 3 ²⁄₃ innings of the game, leaving the rest of the responsibility in the bullpen’s hands.

Craig Yoho, the 27th man for the doubleheader roster, gave up an RBI single to Lindor in the sixth, and Easton McGee was the victim of another Lindor knock, an RBI double in the eighth. Lindor was a universal problem for Brewers’ pitchers tonight, knocking in the last three runs for New York.

It meant a seven-run scoreline for the Mets, a number the Brewers never approached. The Brewers received scoreless appearances from Aaron Ashby, Jared Koenig, and Grant Anderson, but their efforts came too late for Milwaukee to claw back into the game.

The only meaningful offense came in the sixth inning. While this was their only offensive output of the game, it was an explosive one. Christian Yelich and Jackson Chourio led off the inning with back-to-back home runs, chasing Blade Tidwell from the game.

Rhys Hoskins and Anthony Seigler then paired up with some singles to get runners on the bases. It was Seigler’s first hit in the majors.

Joey Ortiz followed with a groundout to third base that proved effective enough to bring the runner home, temporarily giving the Brewers a glimmer of hope at 5-3, but the gap would only expand from that moment.

Tidwell followed opener Huascar Brazobán but carried the bulk of innings for New York with a 4 ¹⁄₃ innings scoreline, allowing three earned runs on three strikeouts and two walks. He recorded a mere three whiffs, but the Brewers failed to make hard contact on a consistent basis.

The Brewers failed to make much headway in the final few innings of the game. Jackson Chourio led off the eighth inning with a single and advanced on a Caleb Durbin walk, but three strikeouts in the inning foiled that opportunity.

In the ninth inning, two strikeouts and a groundout secured Edwin Diaz’s 17th save as the Brewers went scoreless in eight of nine innings. Hoskins and Chourio led the way with two hits, with Hoskins reaching a third time via walk.

It was a difficult game from the start, but the Brewers still carry an 8-2 record over their last 10 games.

Tomorrow’s rubber match against New York is set for a first pitch at 6:10 p.m. Jose Quintana is slated to duel against David Peterson.