MILWAUKEE — For five innings here Friday night, Andrew Painter and Jacob Misiorowski shared a mound.
That was all they had in common.
While Painter got roughed up again in an increasingly tough-to-watch rookie season, his Brewers counterpart unleashed 58 — 58! — 100-plus-mph pitches, collected 15 — 15! — strikeouts, faced the minimum 27 batters, and gave up one hit.
And when “The Miz,” as he’s known around these parts, whiffed Justin Crawford on his 95th pitch to cap a 6-0 undressing of the Phillies — on the one-year anniversary of his major league debut, no less — he clapped his glove, looked skyward, and raised both arms to mark his first career complete game.
One word: Wow.
Four more: Your move, Cristopher Sánchez.
Sánchez will have a chance Sunday in the series finale to submit his midseason case in what’s shaping up as an epic Cy Young race. But first, let’s talk about this Misiorowski fellow, who dominated from first pitch (103.4 mph) to last (103.1).
“I’m glad we faced him,” said Bryce Harper, who struck out on a 104.1 mph fastball in the first inning. “I’m glad we were able to see that. Obviously, we’ve got a chance to play those guys in the postseason, so happy we were able to face him today.”
Misiorowski’s opening statement: swinging strikeouts of Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, and Harper on 12 pitches, including a 104.5 scorcher that set a velocity record for a starter since tracking began in 2008. He fanned eight of the first nine batters on 34 pitches. The Phillies had one baserunner, Schwarber on a leadoff single in the fourth inning on a first-pitch slider.
“Obviously, a unique fastball,” Schwarber said. “You try to adjust to different things, and it just kind of finds a way around you. You’ve got to tip your hat. Not much else to really say.”
But even if Misiorowski’s dominance wasn’t so … what’s the word? … absurd, the contrast between him and Painter would have been impossible to miss.
And yes, it’s perfectly fair to compare them. Painter is 6-foot-7 and right-handed, just like Misiorowski. Painter is 23, only 372 days younger than “The Miz.” They were high draft picks, one year apart, and hyped as prospects in the minors.
Yet there’s Misiorowski, leading the majors in ERA (1.34) and strikeouts (131) and the planet in heat-seeking fastballs. And here’s Painter, with a 1-7 record, coming in behind an opener to lessen his exposure to the top of the Brewers’ lineup, and still giving up five runs in five innings to raise his ERA to 6.43.
Interim manager Don Mattingly thought it represented progress. He cited improvement in Painter’s offspeed pitches, said the first-pitch sweeper that Jake Bauers hit for a three-run homer “wasn’t a terrible pitch,” and observed “better aggression” in going after hitters.
Still, the results weren’t good. So Painter sat facing his locker, dressed in full uniform and deep in thought as teammates moved around the quiet clubhouse after the game.
“Hard to tell right now so fresh off it, but the emphasis has been being super-aggressive in the zone early and kind of pitching on offense, almost,” Painter said. “I thought [there were] a lot of first-pitch strikes, a lot of early contact.”
And yet …
“Just those walks,” he said, referring, in particular, to a free pass to William Contreras that preceded Bauers’ homer. “I think a lot of them are not competitive where it’s four- or five-pitch walks. I’ve got to limit that.
“I’ve just got to take it and move on.”
OK, some perspective: Even Misiorowski struggled as a rookie. Maybe not to Painter’s extent. But after a sensational start that got him named as an All-Star (much to the chagrin of several Phillies players, who thought Sánchez got snubbed), he had a 6.06 ERA over his last eight starts.
Maybe it’s a lesson for Painter, even as the flashes of promise from his first few starts have begun to flicker and dim.
“Everything’s there, you know?” Schwarber said. “It’s just, this is the big leagues. It’s the highest form of competition, and it’s hard to just always succeed.”
Said Harper: “I said it in camp, right? We need him. And we still do. He’s still in the beginning of his career, and he’s going to have success and he’s going to get better. We believe in him.
“We need to him to establish his pitches a little more, have confidence out there, not look at his numbers. I think that’s a big thing, not looking at your numbers. I think he’s, what, 1-7? Just throw that out the door. He’s really good. We know he’s going to be good.”
Misiorowski is already great. Maybe he took the mound with a chip on that lightning-bolt of a right shoulder from the Phillies’ complaints last July. Maybe not.
Either way, the Phillies had no chance.
Misiorowski doesn’t merely throw harder than anyone else. He gets more extension through his delivery, which somehow makes 104 mph look even faster than it is.
Brandon Marsh asked Harper postgame if he has ever faced anyone like “The Miz.” Harper compared him to former Mets ace Matt Harvey.
“He had the extension heater, and he was one of the first guys that really rode that heater at the top of the zone,” Harper said. “I mean, 104 is a little bit different. It’s going to be tough at any point. He might be throwing 106 with a big [postseason] crowd, you know?
“But, yeah, it’s a different animal when he’s on the mound. Just like what Sánchez is for us. He’s their guy.”
The Miz has spoken. Time for Sánchez to have his say.
