Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski Explains Brutal, Career-Worst Outing Vs. Cubs

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Jacob Misiorowski's flamethrowing made more MLB history during the Milwaukee Brewers' 9-5 win Wednesday night vs. the Chicago Cubs, but it was an otherwise rough outing for the 24-year-old.
Misiorowski surrendered five runs on five hits, four walks and five strikeouts across four innings in settling for a no-decision.
He was lucky to escape a loss, however.
Misiorowski's five runs allowed (all earned) matched a career-high and stopped his season-long streak of starts with three earned runs or less at 25, while his four walks tied for the most in his short MLB journey as well.
His five strikeouts were tied for the fewest he's had in 2026 too.
Misiorowski explained that the conditions weren't ideal on Wednesday night at Wrigley Field.
"I didn’t feel wonderful, didn’t feel great," the two-time All-Star said, according to a report by MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. "Obviously it felt soggy the whole time. The weather played a factor in that, so I lost grip. I had to make it work."
Misiorowski's rare dud came on the heels of an encouraging message that he received from Baseball Hall of Famer and Boston Red Sox legend Pedro Martinez.
In a social media post, the latter urged the Miz to "trust" himself and "don’t fear anyone!"
Brewers manager Pat Murphy said that his ace can use the struggles against Chicago as a learning experience.
"He’s going to learn a lesson from this," Murphy said, per McCalvy. "He didn’t command his fastball, and he just had to bob and weave. He didn’t have his perfect delivery, and that’s going to be a key going forward."
Misiorowski will likely make his next appearance against the Cubs again when the two teams square off from Monday to Wednesday at American Family Field.
How Do Misiorowski's Overall Numbers Look After Dud Vs. Cubs?

Despite the misstep, Milwaukee's right-hander should still be considered the NL Cy Young frontrunner for now.
Misiorowski left Wednesday's outing remaining at 14-5, with his ERA and WHIP rising to a still stellar (and league-leading) 1.97 and 0.79, respectively. He's also now up to an MLB-high 227 strikeouts in his 155 innings pitched across 26 starts.
Misiorowski is still in a good position to win two-thirds of MLB's pitching crown (his 14 wins are tied for third-most), though Wednesday's performance hurt.
His 1.97 ERA is just ahead of New York Yankees youngster Cam Schlitter's 2.04 mark, while fellow NL Cy Young contender Chris Sale is third at 2.06. Misiorowski's strikeout total, meanwhile, is only six in front of Toronto Blue Jays All-Star Dylan Cease (221).

Victor Barbosa is a graduate of Springfield College, where he earned a degree in Communications-Sports Journalism. He has covered local and professional sports news for FanSided, Heavy, NESN, SportsNet Pittsburgh, Syracuse.com, WEEI and Yardbarker, among other publications. Victor lives in the Albany, NY area with his wife, toddler and two dogs.
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