Misiorowski shines vs. Skenes in fiery showdown
Jacob Misiorowski and Paul Skenes needed fewer than 80 pitches each to set new standards for velocity in the first matchup between these 23-year-old flamethrowers.
Misiorowski struck out eight and allowed two hits and two walks in five shutout innings as his Brewers defeated Skenes’ Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 in Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Skenes lasted just four innings — matching the second-shortest outing of his career — while striking out four and allowing four runs, four hits and two walks. All four runs came in the second inning, as the Brewers went through all nine batters in a 37-pitch inning. Never before had Skenes faced that many hitters, thrown that many pitches or yielded that many runs in a single inning.
Misiorowski said he made an extra effort to avoid getting caught up in all the hype surrounding the rookie’s highly anticipated matchup with Skenes.
“It was just one of those things that you wanted to try and calm yourself down as much as possible and stay off the internet, because I feel like everything I swiped was me and Skenes, me and Skenes, me and Skenes,” Misiorowski said. “I had to mute it, turn it off.”
In the second inning, after the Brewers’ Isaac Collins drew a leadoff walk, Brice Turang and Caleb Durbin each followed with a single to center field to load the bases with nobody out. Collins scored on Joey Ortiz‘s groundout along the first-base line, and Eric Haase doubled to bring in Turang. Sal Frelick connected on a splitter that went to Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales, but an overthrow to catcher Henry Davis at the plate allowed Durbin to come around and score. Christian Yelich increased the lead to four runs with a single to left field that brought in Haase.
It was only the third time in 40 career starts that Skenes had given up as many as four runs, and it snapped a stretch of nine straight starts in which he had allowed two runs or fewer. Skenes also had not allowed a run in the first two innings of a game since Aug. 28, 2024.
According to Sportradar, Misiorowski averaged 99.5 mph and Skenes averaged 98.5 on their fastballs. That represented the highest combined fastball velocity by two starting pitchers in the same game since at least 2009.
Misiorowski reached at least 100 mph on 19 of his 74 pitches while establishing a career high of 102.4 mph, the fastest strikeout pitch for a Brewer in the pitch tracking era (since 2008), according to ESPN Research. And Skenes got to 100 mph once out of 78 pitches. Since at least 2009, this marked the most combined 100 mph pitches by opposing starters for any game in which both reached that threshold at least once.
“I’ve watched plenty of his games,” Misiorowski said of Skenes. “It’s awesome to face a guy like that and really compare yourself to some of the best.”
There have been 19 occasions since 2000 in which a single pitcher has thrown at least 20 pitches of at least 100 mph, but in none of those instances did the opposing starter also reach 100 mph.
Through his first three career starts, Misiorowski owns a 3-0 record and a 1.13 ERA. He has struck out 19 while allowing only three hits and seven walks over 16 innings. He is the first pitcher since 1900 with as many or more wins as hits allowed over his first three major league appearances (minimum 15 innings pitched), according to ESPN Research.
What advice would Skenes give Misiorowski about how to handle the scrutiny that could accompany an emergence to stardom?
“You’ve got to protect yourself, for lack of a better term, obviously, with the media, but I assume if he goes and walks around Milwaukee now, there’s going to be more people that recognize him and all that,” said Skenes, who met Misiorowski for the first time Monday. “If he does what he’s supposed to do and everybody thinks he can do, that’s not going away any time soon. Get used to it and find ways to find peace and that kind of thing.”
Wednesday’s performance increased Skenes’ career ERA from 1.91 to 2.03 and dropped his record this season to 4-7.
“They did a good job of getting to some pitches,” Skenes said. “I wasn’t unhappy with the execution of all of those; there are probably a couple that could have been better. But they did a good job.”
Reliever Trevor Megill threw a perfect ninth for his 18th save of the season, as Milwaukee won its sixth game in the past seven.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Texas State officials have informed the Sun Belt Conference that they are expecting an offer from the Pac-12 in the near future, sources told ESPN.
The talks between Texas State and the Pac-12 have intensified in the last 24 hours, per ESPN sources, although a formal offer from the Pac-12 to Texas State has yet to be delivered.
A formal offer is anticipated in the near future, per sources, as Texas State is in talks to join the league for the 2026-27 school year.
It’d be the next step in the courtship, which may not formally conclude until Monday because of the process required. To formally accept an offer upon receipt, Texas State would need to call a board of regents meeting, which requires 72 hours of notice to convene, per state of Texas open meeting laws.
Pac-12 officials have also alerted the Sun Belt of the talks with Texas State, per sources. Texas State has been the heavy favorite to join the league for months.
That anticipation has increased this week because Texas State’s exit fee to join the Pac-12 for 2026 doubles from $5 million to $10 million on July 1. For formal board approval and to avoid the buyout, Texas State’s invitation would have to come late this week.
Texas State would become the league’s eighth football member, which the Pac-12 needs as a minimum to operate as an FBS conference. (There’d be nine overall, including Gonzaga.)
The Pac-12’s football membership for 2026 consists of Oregon State, Washington State, Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State, Utah State and Fresno State. Gonzaga doesn’t sponsor football but also will be in the league.
Texas State is a school of 40,000 students that gives the Pac-12 a presence in the football-rich state of Texas. It joined the WAC in 2012 under coach Dennis Franchione and entered the Sun Belt a year later.
Texas State held a verbal offer in the fall to join the Mountain West but ultimately turned that down.
The Bobcats are coming off back-to-back bowl wins and an eight-win season under coach GJ Kinne.
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Eli Lederman
After a series of high-profile whiffs in the 2026 quarterback class, Oregon landed one of the cycle’s fastest-rising prospects on Wednesday with a commitment from three-star passer Bryson Beaver.
Beaver, a 6-foot-3 recruit from Murrieta, California, initially committed to Boise State on April 19. But amid fresh interest from a series of major Power 4 programs including Alabama, Ole Miss and Oregon, Beaver pulled his pledge from the Broncos and reopened his recruitment earlier this month on June 12. He took unofficial trips to Alabama and Ole Miss days later, and Beaver drew new offers from Auburn and LSU on Monday in the wake of a standout performance at the Elite 11 Finals — the nation’s premier high school passing camp — from June 17-19.
His commitment to the Ducks follows an official visit to Oregon this past weekend, closing a rapid, 13-day re-recruitment.
“The last few weeks have been a blessing-I’ve had some great conversations with amazing coaches from top programs, and I’m super thankful for the interest I’ve received,” Beaver wrote on social media.
Beaver joins Oregon as the 10th commit in the Ducks’ incoming recruiting class, and his pledge closes the program’s protracted pursuit of a 2026 quarterback in recent months.
Oregon appeared settled at the position in the cycle after four-star passer Jonas Williams (No. 155 overall) committed to the program last August. But Williams’ flip to USC six months later on Feb. 21 forced the Ducks to renew their efforts in the 2026 quarterback market this spring, setting the stage for several near-misses before Beaver’s commitment on Wednesday.
Oregon spent early spring engaged in a neck-and-neck battle with Georgia for No. 1 quarterback prospect Jared Curtis (No. 5 in the 2026 ESPN), who ultimately committed to the Bulldogs on May 5 following visits with both programs. On Tuesday, the Ducks finished second for a top quarterback once again, this time losing out on four-star BYU pledge Ryder Lyons (No. 49). Two-sport star Matt Ponatoski, who is expected to be selected in next month’s MLB draft, is another quarterback prospect the Ducks actively recruited in recent weeks.
Beaver, a strong-armed passer who threw for 3,214 yards and 33 touchdowns as a junior last fall, will arrive on campus next year alongside a pair of ESPN 300 pass catchers.
Five-star Kendre’ Harrison, ESPN’s No. 1 tight end in 2026, has been committed to Oregon since Nov. 2024. Wide receiver Messiah Hampton ( No. 193 overall) became the program’s most recent top-300 addition on offense earlier this month.
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