MILWAUKEE (AP) \u2014 Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy says the Brewers want to monitor Jacob Misiorowski\u2019s workload coming out of the All-Star break.<\/p>\n
The first example of that came Monday night.<\/p>\n
Misiorowski worked just four innings in an 8-3 victory<\/a> over the New York Mets that marked his first appearance since pitching seven innings in a July 7 victory<\/a> at St. Louis. The Brewers scratched Misiorowski<\/a> from a scheduled July 12 start in Pittsburgh due to arm fatigue, and he didn\u2019t pitch in the All-Star Game<\/a> last week despite getting selected to the team for a second straight year.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we take that as kind of a reset,\u201d Murphy said before the game. \u201cNow I think we have to build him back up and make sure that we are mindful of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Misiorowski struck out six Monday while allowing one unearned run, four hits and a walk. Twenty-six of his 65 pitches went at least 100 mph, and he topped out at 104 mph on a first-inning fastball to Juan Soto. He reached 102 on 12 pitches, though all but one of them came in the first inning.<\/p>\n Murphy noted after the game that limiting Misiorowski to only four innings wasn\u2019t simply a matter of being careful with the flamethrowing right-hander. He said it was more a matter of \u201cjust being mindful of when a guy\u2019s not right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe would have probably let him go further if his delivery and his legs felt great,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cI think he was a little bit out of it. The long layoff kind of affected his delivery and everything else. I think it was important to notice that and get him out of there then. The velo dropped. He couldn\u2019t find the rhythm on his heater and went to off-speed stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Misiorowski acknowledged that it felt a little more difficult than usual pitching Monday after such a long layoff.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course,\u201d Misiorowski said. \u201cI felt like I wasn\u2019t in my legs as well as I should have been, but I felt halfway decent. Good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n The Brewers have reason to be careful with their star pitcher as he makes his way through his first full season in the big leagues.<\/p>\n Misiorowski already has pitched 115 innings this season. He worked a total of 141 1\/3 innings<\/a> last year, including his regular-season totals in the majors and minors plus his 12 postseason innings during Milwaukee\u2019s run to the NL Championship Series.<\/a><\/p>\n The Brewers (63-37) have the best record in the major leagues and own a six-game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. Misiorowski has been baseball\u2019s best pitcher this season, and the Brewers\u2019 chances of making a deep postseason run likely depend on him staying healthy and effective.<\/p>\n Misiorowski hasn\u2019t allowed an earned run in eight of his last 13 starts, and he owns a 9-2 record and 0.87 ERA during that stretch. He has a 1.57 ERA and 173 strikeouts this season to lead the majors in both categories.<\/p>\n The 24-year-old said after Monday\u2019s game that he\u2019s hopeful he can go longer in his next start and can ramp his way back up quickly after this recent time off. Misiorowski had spent the offseason preparing for the greater workload he expected to encounter this year.<\/p>\n \u201cThe offseason last year, we focused on legs and doing all that stuff to get myself ready for this track of the year,\u201d Misiorowski said. \u201cI feel good where I\u2019m at. Ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n