Having already gotten the better of Paul Skenes in the regular season, Milwaukee Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski just one-upped his divisional rival in the All-Star Game annals, as well.
Misiorowski, the 6-foot-7, 23-year-old fireballer who has taken the majors by storm, was named to National League All-Star team on Friday, replacing Chicago Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd as Boyd is scheduled to start Saturday and cannot play in Tuesday’s Midsummer Classic in Atlanta.
In making the team after only five career appearances, the right-handed Misiorowski breaks Skenes’ record for the fewest career games played before making the All-Star Game. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ ace made the game after 11 career games last season.
Misiorowski has been one of baseball’s biggest stories so far this season. In his big-league debut on June 12 he threw five hitless innings in a 6-0 victory over St. Louis. Eight days later, he took a perfect game into the seventh inning against the Twins in Minneapolis.
And in his third game, Misiorowski outdueled Skenes in a matchup of 100-plus mph flamethrowers, holding the Pirates to two hits over five shutout innings en route to a 4-2 win. In his most recent start, Misiorowski struck out 12 Dodgers over six innings in a 3-1 win over Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Overall, Misiorowski is 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA with 33 strikeouts and 11 walks over 25 2/3 innings.
Misiorowski is one of three Brewers — all pitchers — named to the NL squad, joining starter Freddy Peralta and reliever Trevor Megill.