Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (32). Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Jacob Misiorowski sets franchise record in first Opening Day start

By Taylor Bretl | Last updated Mar 26, 2026 6:12 PM ET

The Milwaukee Brewers opened their season at home for the first time since 2021, dominating the Chicago White Sox, 14-2, off a historic start from 23-year-old Jacob Misiorowski.

With injuries to Milwaukee's top two arms — Brandon Woodruff and Quinn Priester — the Opening Day start shifted to Misiorowski.

His outing didn’t begin smoothly. On the very first batter in a full count, he faced Chase Meidroth, who launched a home run to put Milwaukee in an early 1-0 deficit.

After that opening swing, Misiorowski locked in for the rest of his outing, striking out 10 of the next 12 batters to put his name into a new franchise record. Misiorowski surpassed Freddy Peralta and Ben Sheets for the most strikeouts on Opening Day in Brewers history. Both Peralta and Sheets tied for the franchise record entering Thursday with eight.

He finished his day with five innings pitched, allowing just one earned run on two hits while striking out 11 and issuing three walks.

At 23 years and 357 days, Jacob Misiorowski is the youngest pitcher with 10+ strikeouts on Opening Day since Felix Hernandez in 2007 (12 K, 20y 359d) https://t.co/SOfk0cyPB7
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) March 26, 2026

Misiorowski also became just the third pitcher in Major League Baseball history to record 10 or more strikeouts on Opening Day, joining Gary Nolan (12 in 1969) and Don Drysdale (14 in 1960).

Even more impressively, Misiorowski is now the youngest player in MLB history since 1901 to tally at least 11 strikeouts while allowing two or fewer hits on Opening Day.

Taylor Bretl

Taylor Bretl writes about Major League Baseball with a focus on the Milwaukee Brewers. He is founder of Around the Globe Baseball.

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