Mariners take aim at Jacob Misiorowski, hot Brewers

Seattle's Randy Arozarena got to face young phenom Jacob Misiorowski at the All-Star Game last week.

The rest of the Mariners will get front-row seats Tuesday night when the Milwaukee Brewers' version of "Les Mis" makes his first major-league start in Seattle.

Misiorowski previously has pitched in Seattle. He wowed scouts with a 101.2 mph fastball during the 2023 All-Star Futures Game.

He's done the same in his brief time with the Brewers. Misiorowski (4-1, 2.81 ERA) was selected to join the National League's All-Star team as an injury replacement after just five appearances in the majors.

"I'm just happy for the kid, that he's getting these opportunities," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "But we'll see how he handles it. I think good, because he's really a genuine dude, a grounded guy."

How grounded?

Misiorowski was surprised that he was recognized while grocery shopping during the All-Star break, a sure sign of his newfound fame.

"Someone posted me on Twitter going to Target," Misiorowski said. "I was buying toilet paper and breakfast sausage and some kid walked up to me and was like, ‘Can I take a selfie with you?' I said, ‘OK, come on.' And it was posted on Twitter. You can see my shopping cart on Twitter.

"I'm like, what happened if I was buying something (embarrassing)?"

Misiorowski said he considered his scoreless inning a week ago at the All-Star Game in Atlanta, in which he topped out at 102 mph, like a bullpen session.

The 23-year-old said he didn't really need an All-Star "break," though the Brewers gave him a bit of one in not having him pitch in their first four games following the Mid-Summer Classic.

"I feel like sometimes you come back from the break and you're sluggish, almost. Because you're not used to it," Misiorowski said. "I think it's good that I got loose. I think that will help."

In Misiorowski's most recent start, he beat the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 on July 8 by allowing one run on four hits over six innings with 12 strikeouts.

"The Japanese media in Los Angeles wanted to know about two things: (Shohei) Ohtani and The Mis," Murphy said.

The Brewers have won 11 consecutive games, including a 6-0 victory against Seattle in the opener of the three-game series Monday night, to move past the Chicago Cubs and into sole possession of first place in the National League's Central Division.

"Just keep doing what we're doing," Misiorowski said, "and it's going to be a lot of fun."

The Brewers failed to get a hit in the opening 5 1/3 innings off George Kirby before scoring four times in the sixth.

"(Kirby) was so good through the first five and oftentimes you see that when a bid like that, a no-hit bid stops, they pick up that first hit, it can go pretty quickly," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.

The Mariners, who have dropped two in a row following a five-game winning streak, plan to send right-hander Logan Gilbert (2-3, 3.39) to the mound Tuesday.

Gilbert, a former All-Star who spent more than six weeks on the injured list earlier this season with a right elbow flexor strain, has gone 1-2 since his return.

He didn't get a decision in an 8-4 victory July 13 in Detroit despite giving up just two unearned runs over 5 1/3 innings.

Gilbert is 0-0 with a 6.17 ERA in two career starts against the Brewers.