Jacob Misiorowski and the Milwaukee Brewers stand on the brink of history, just one win away from bringing the franchise's first-ever World Series title home. All eyes turn to Misiorowski on Wednesday as he takes the mound for Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Rays. Misiorowski has been one of baseball's biggest breakout stars this season, establishing himself among the game's elite arms with a season that has him as the favorite to win the NL Cy Young.
However, taking the mound with a chance to wrap up Game 5 and deliver a championship should be every pitcher’s dream. Misiorowski has shown that he’s built for it. Through three postseason outings, he has led the Brewers to wins in every single start, throwing 13 ⅓ innings with 14 strikeouts while allowing just four earned runs.
During his World Series Game 1 start, Misiorowski shut the Rays' offense down. Though he threw just five innings, he struck out three batters, allowed only one run on four hits and led the Brewers to a 3-2 victory. The pressure is on Misiorowski, but he’s shown he can live up to the big moments.
Game 5 will tell us if the Rays can stay alive or if Misiorowski can end the series and bring home the Brewers' first-ever World Series championship. If Misiorowski delivers, he’ll join an elite club. Here are a few of the most historic Game 5 pitching performances in World Series history.
No discussion of Game 5 heroics is complete without Don Larsen's 1956 masterpiece for the New York Yankees. To this day, he remains the only pitcher in World Series history to throw a perfect game. Larsen needed just 97 pitches to dismantle the then-Brooklyn Dodgers, striking out seven in his legendary gem.
For his unmatched performance on the mound, he was named World Series MVP and earned the prestigious Babe Ruth Award. Throwing the only perfect game in World Series history is an accomplishment that remains unmatched 70 years later. In some ways, Larsen set the ultimate gold standard for postseason dominance.
When it comes to historic Game 5 pitching performances, few have managed a more dominant showing than Madison Bumgarner in 2014. He threw a complete-game, four-hit shutout to give the San Francisco Giants a 3-2 lead over the Kansas City Royals. It was the first World Series complete-game shutout since Josh Beckett accomplished the feat for the Florida Marlins in Game 6 of the 2003 World Series.
It goes to show just how special of a talent and postseason run Bumgarner had for the Giants. Bumgarner was on a different level during that World Series and followed his shutout with a historic five-inning relief appearance in Game 7 just three days later. He finished the 2014 World Series with a 0.43 ERA across 21 innings and took home MVP honors.
Koufax is viewed as one of the most dominant pitchers in history, so it’s no surprise he made this list. In the 1965 World Series against the Minnesota Twins, Koufax delivered a masterclass performance on the mound that is still remembered to this day. With the Dodgers down early in the series, Koufax delivered a complete-game shutout in Game 5, allowing just four hits while striking out 10.
Then, returning on short rest in Game 7, Koufax threw yet another shutout to clinch the World Series title. When it came to winning the biggest games, Koufax always delivered. During the 1988 World Series, Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser put together a dominant performance against the then-Oakland Athletics.
His complete game pushed the Dodgers to clinch the series 4-1 and bring home their sixth World Series title in franchise history. Hershiser earned World Series MVP honors following a dominant performance on the mound and at the plate. In Game 5, Hershiser threw a complete game, allowing just four hits and two runs while striking out nine batters.
In Game 2, he threw a complete-game shutout and went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a run, and an RBI. It goes to show what a dominant performance Hershiser had not only in Game 5, but throughout the entire series. Throwing nearly 150 pitches, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Curt Schilling forced a Game 6 in the 1993 World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
His Game 5 performance won't ever be forgotten as he threw a complete-game, 2-0 shutout on 147 pitches. During Schilling’s performance on the mound, even with what felt like a million pitches, he put on a show. He allowed only five hits while striking out six, putting the team on his back to force a Game 6.
