Jacob Misiorowski did not need a full inning to put his stamp on the 2026 postseason. One pitch was enough.
The Brewers’ right-hander began Saturday night’s National League Division Series opener against the Padres in Milwaukee by firing a 104.8 mph fastball to Fernando Tatis Jr. It was the fastest pitch ever tracked in postseason play, with the pitch-tracking era dating to 2008.
A record arrives on the first batter
- Misiorowski opened Game 1 with the 104.8 mph heater to Tatis, taking over the postseason record.
- His next delivery came in at 104.6 mph, meaning he had beaten the former record twice before the at-bat was over.
- The previous mark had been a 104.5 mph fastball from Padres reliever Mason Miller in Game 2 of the 2025 NL Wild Card Series against the Cubs.
- Misiorowski struck out Tatis, then got Dustin Harris on a ground ball to second base.
- Manny Machado doubled on a slider, but Misiorowski left him at second by striking out Ty France to finish a scoreless 25-pitch first inning.
Machado also saw Misiorowski reach 104.5 mph, another reminder that the Brewers starter was not merely dialing up for one early statement. The opening pitch was the second-hardest of Misiorowski’s career, trailing only the 105.5 mph fastball he threw to Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong on June 26.
Heat was the headline, but not the whole assignment
Misiorowski has made triple digits look routine often enough that he spoke of 99 to 101 mph as a comfortable operating range before the series began.
“Most nights, when I’m around 99, 101, I’m basically cruising,” Misiorowski said Friday. “That feels pretty easy for us.”
Game 1 moved beyond that cruising range immediately. Yet the first inning also showed the part of the job that matters after the radar-gun reading flashes: recovering after a baserunner, mixing in the slider, and finishing the inning without damage.
Two elite power arms share the series
The Brewers-Padres matchup brought together the regular season’s top two pitchers in 100-plus mph offerings. Misiorowski finished first in that category, with Miller second.
Miller, whose own postseason velocity record lasted until Misiorowski’s first batter Saturday, said before the series that the Milwaukee right-hander is most dangerous when his confidence allows him to attack the strike zone.
“He’s at his best when he trusts himself, throws the fastball for strikes and just turns it loose as hard as he can,” Miller said.
Misiorowski turned it loose right away. Then he turned a record-setting opening pitch into a clean first inning, giving the Brewers exactly the kind of opening jolt a Division Series game can carry for nine innings.
