It’s too early to know which MLB teams will be strongest come October, but it’s clear that the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies have two of the best starting pitchers in baseball. Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowoski went 5-0 with a 0.23 ERA over six starts in May, while Phillies southpaw Cristopher Sanchez went 4-0 with a 0.00 ERA over five starts.
Misiorowski ended the month with a seven-inning in Sunday’s 2-0 win over the Houston Astros, allowing just three hits without walking a batter. The 24-year-old also tallied eight strikeouts and threw 54 strikes out of 88 pitches.
Misiorowski and Sanchez made history with their May resumes, per MLB researcher Sarah Langs.
“There have been 20 instances since at least 1900 of a pitcher allowing 1 or 0 runs in a calendar month with at least 30 IP. Cristopher Sánchez and Jacob Misiorowski this May are the only ones to do it in the SAME month in the same year,” she reported on Sunday.
There have been 20 instances since at least 1900 of a pitcher allowing 1 or 0 runs in a calendar month with at least 30 IP
Cristopher Sánchez and Jacob Misiorowski this May are the only ones to do it in the SAME month in the same year https://t.co/XGWnRTenP3— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 31, 2026
This presents a difficult choice for those on the voting panel for the NL Pitcher of the Month award. Although Misiorowski made one more start, Sanchez tossed 0.2 more innings and allowed one fewer run. On the other hand, Misiorowski allowed 11 fewer hits and had 12 more strikeouts.
Another deciding factor could be the strength of schedule. All five of the six teams that Misiorowski faced now have winning records, and four of them are ranked top-10 in OPS. Conversely, Sanchez faced only two winning teams and two top-10 OPS teams.
Trevor Megill Makes Jacob Misiorowski Admission on Sunday
Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
Although Misiorowski was as good as Milwaukee could’ve asked for in May, it’s hard to win a monthly pitching award over someone who didn’t allow a run. Brewers closer Trevor Megill acknowledged the tight race after Sunday’s win, via MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy.
“Crazy,” the right-hander said. “I saw a thing on Instagram about Pitcher of the Month for this month, and like eight different people are all in contention. Stuff happens, man. That’s baseball. That’s life. Sometimes, someone is a little bit better, even though you’re kind of the best one out there right now.”
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani was also red-hot on the mound in May, going 3-1 with a 1.08 ERA over four starts. The 31-year-old won NL Pitcher of the Month honors for March/April, going 2-1 with a 0.60 ERA across five starts, per MLB.com.
If Misiorowski, Sanchez and Ohtani continue their momentum, they’ll each be NL Cy Young contenders as well.
Related: Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski Produces Historic Month of May