Miz spins 5 1/3 no-hit frames, then exits with cramp before 'pen preserves win

WASHINGTON -- Jacob Misiorowski was cruising past the Nationals’ lineup on Friday night.

Through five innings he hadn’t allowed a hit, had allowed just two baserunners on a pair of walks and had racked up seven strikeouts.

But a solo no-hitter was not in the cards for the young righty, who exited the Brewers’ 6-1 win at Nationals Park with a right hamstring cramp after facing one batter and delivering a strike to another in the sixth inning.

Misiorowski struck out Jacob Young to open the frame, delivered a strike to James Wood, then was immediately approached by the Brewers’ head trainer and manager Pat Murphy. A call to the bullpen was made, with Aaron Ashby taking the ball, and Misiorowski walked off the field.

Misiorowski has dealt with cramping before, including in his 2025 debut when he threw five-plus hitless frames.

Misiorowski’s potential injury comes on the heels of veteran starter Brandon Woodruff (right shoulder inflammation) landing on the 15-day IL pregame, after exiting his start on Thursday in the second inning.

Misiorowski had been on a record-setting tear vs. the Nationals. His strikeout of Luis García Jr. in the first inning was the fourth of his career on a pitch 102 mph or higher; that’s the same total as all other starters (Hunter Greene, two; Tarik Skubal, one; Yordano Ventura, one) combined under pitch tracking (since 2008).

The flamethrowing 24-year-old was also on track to break a four-year-old record: Misiorowski’s 43 pitches at 100 mph or higher were the third-most such pitches thrown in a single game by a single pitcher (in the pitch-tracking era). That list:

Most 100+ mph pitches in a game, pitch-tracking era (2008):

Hunter Greene: 47, 9/17/22
Hunter Greene: 44, 3/30/23
Jacob Misiorowski: 43, 5/1/26
Jacob Misiorowski: 39, 4/25/26
Hunter Greene: 39, 4/16/22
Hunter Greene: 38, 7/26/22
Hunter Greene: 38, 7/9/22

And Misiorowski was only getting better as the game progressed. After walking a batter in each of the first two innings, he did not allow another baserunner and proceeded to strike out the side in the fifth inning.

Ashby preserved the no-hitter, getting the final two outs in the sixth and working into the seventh. But after getting one out in the seventh, then issuing a walk to CJ Abrams, Ashby lost the no-no on a bloop double to left by Daylen Lile. Ashby carried on, though, completing the seventh and eighth innings before turning the ball over to Easton McGee -- who was recalled that morning as Woodruff landed on the IL.

The Crew’s no-hit bid would have been the third no-no in franchise history, which dates to the 1969 Seattle Pilots, and would have been the first in the Majors in 20 months. The most recent no-hitter in the Majors came late in the 2024 season, on Sept. 4, when the Cubs' Shota Imanaga and two relievers turned the trick in a 12-0 victory over the Pirates.

• History of Brewers no-hitters

The Brewers' last no-hitter came on Sept. 11, 2021, when Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader combined on a no-hitter in a 3-0 win over Cleveland. On April 15, 1987, Juan Nieves didn't allow a hit in a 7-0 win over the Orioles.

But regardless of the no-hit bid, or perhaps in spite of it, all attention is on Misiorowski and whether his hamstring cramp is a one-off issue, or whether it will impact his next start -- and further beleaguer an already worn Brewers bullpen.