The Brewers turned to Jacob Misiorowski on June 7, 2026, for his first start in Colorado, while reshaping the roster around an already taxed bullpen and a fresh injury to Brian Fitzpatrick. Milwaukee played the Rockies in the second game of the series with first pitch set for 8:10 p.m. ET, and the move came after Fitzpatrick was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left elbow injury.
That is why the game drew attention beyond the standings. Misiorowski, who had carved through May with one run allowed over six starts, was the arm Milwaukee most needed to lengthen the night after dropping its last two. The Brewers were 38-23, the Rockies 24-40, and the matchup put a hot starter on the mound against a team trying to stop a slide while protecting a pitching staff that had already taken hits.
Pat Murphy said Fitzpatrick’s MRI showed a UCL strain, and the right-hander planned to seek a second opinion before choosing between rehab and surgery. Milwaukee responded by selecting Drew Rom’s contract from Triple-A Nashville and bringing in Joel Kuhnel from the Athletics for cash. Kuhnel had been designated for assignment earlier in the week after giving up four runs in 2/3 of an inning against the Cubs, but he returned with a 4.21 ERA, a 3.97 FIP, 4.9 strikeouts per nine innings and 2.1 walks per nine in the season.
The bullpen picture was still messy even after the front office patchwork. Trevor Megill, Aaron Ashby and Craig Yoho all pitched the previous day, and Yoho was likely unavailable after covering two innings. Chad Patrick had thrown 49 pitches on Wednesday, and the club expected Shane Drohan to pitch the next day. If Grant Anderson remained day to day, that left Abner Uribe and Rom as the only rested arms. Milwaukee could lean on Misiorowski’s form, but only if he gave them innings the bullpen could not spare.
William Contreras was in the lineup, along with Andrew Vaughn and Joey Ortiz, while Garrett Mitchell and Luis Rengifo got the day off. The top five batters stayed unchanged, a sign the Brewers were trying to keep the offense steady while improvising on the mound. Zach Agnos, who carried a 7.78 ERA and a 5.08 FIP over 37 innings, was set to start for Colorado in only his second start of the season and his first career appearance against Milwaukee. If Misiorowski did not work deep, the Brewers were left to manage the game with very little margin for error.
