Which MLB pitcher had better May: Misiorowski or Sanchez? - ESPN

Jacob Misiorowski has been in the major leagues less than a year — he debuted last season, on June 12 — yet already his legend seems to be growing, thanks to a fastball of voracious velocity.

Misiorowski just capped a historic month of May with another dominant outing Sunday, pitching seven scoreless innings while allowing three hits with eight strikeouts as his Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Houston Astros. Maybe his most impressive pitch of the game was a 3-2 fastball to superstar slugger Yordan Alvarez in the sixth inning, when the right-hander reared back and blew a 101 mph heater past Alvarez.

«This is painted 101 at the top of the zone,» said Brewers color analyst Tim Dillard. «Again, this is a fastball that when hitters are seeing it, it just never comes down. It just keeps going.»

A lot of Misiorowski's fastballs keep going, right into the glove of the Milwaukee catcher, often after an overmatched batter swings late at the high-octane velocity. Misiorowski made six starts in May, finishing 5-0 with a 0.23 ERA, allowing just one run in 38⅓ innings while striking out 57 batters.

«It's electric. It's extremely impressive stuff, if not the best in the league,» teammate Jake Bauers said. «When he's pounding the zone, it's tough to beat him. It's been fun to watch. He's got a few more starts for us this year, so hopefully he keeps pushing.»

The tall-but-true tale: Misiorowski threw 241 fastballs in the month at 100 mph or faster. Batters swung at 125 of them, fouling off 48 and putting just 20 of them in play. Just five of those 20 went for hits, all of them singles. But 100 hardly tells the whole story of his fastball. Misiorowski threw 71 pitches in the month that clocked 102 mph or faster, including starts with 22