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.
“[Started to feel it] probably about the last warmup pitch,” Misiorowski said. “And then that whole first batter I had it, so it was there. Didn’t really get terrible until that first pitch to Wood. … Just a hamstring cramp. Didn’t want to push through it, thought it was better to turn it over to the bullpen and let Ash handle it. So, felt as good as I can.”
Misiorowski has dealt with cramping before, including in his 2025 debut when he threw five-plus hitless frames.
While the Brewers aren’t overly concerned about their young starter, 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.
“We feel pretty good about it,” Murphy said. “We’re not going to test it right now, because we’re afraid he might cramp again. So we’ll just see where it is tomorrow. We’re hopeful; he feels good about it, hopeful.”
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 faster; that’s the same total as all other starters (Hunter Greene, two; Tarik Skubal, one; Yordano Ventura, one) combined under pitch tracking (since 2008). Later in the inning, his 103.0 mph fastball to Curtis Mead marked the third-fastest pitch by a starter in that span (trailing only a pair of fastballs from opener Jordan Hicks on July 12, 2022).
Oh, and on top of that? Misiorowski averaged 101.9 mph on his fastball in the first inning. That’s the fastest fastball average by a starter in any inning in the pitch-tracking era.
“He’s truthfully got the stuff and opportunity to [throw a no-hitter] every night, which is pretty special,” Ashby said. “There’s not a lot of guys that have basically the chance to do what he does every night.”
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:
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 -- on 11 pitches.
“It all felt really good, felt like one of the best nights of the year so far,” Misiorowski said. “So there’s that positive on the night. So hopefully, it goes into the next start.”
Ashby preserved the no-hitter, getting the final two outs in the sixth. 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.
Of course, as is often the case, those who participated didn’t know there was a no-hitter until after the fact -- or in Ashby’s case, he knew before he took the mound, but forgot as soon as he stepped foot outside of the bullpen.
“I didn’t know until I was in here getting treatment for the cramping and saw on the TV that we had a no-hitter going,” Misiorowski said.
“I’d looked up maybe in like, the fifth, and I was like, ‘Dang, there’s a zero up there,’” Ashby said. “And then basically forgot about that until I got in the dugout and realized, I looked up there and I was like, ‘Dang, they only had one hit there.’ So no, I didn’t realize it until after -- but I realized it before, I just kind of forgot.”
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.
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.
“Our bullpen’s a little depleted, with Woody going out after four outs yesterday,” Murphy said. “So it was really important [what Ashby did]. Ash gave us the 40 pitches, that’s what we were thinking, and he was great.
“You expect the full catastrophe every year. There’s -- everything’s gonna happen, and so I’m really hopeful that [Misiorowski’s injury] is not that. But again, every year, somehow it gets around to the full catastrophe. Just not usually by May 1.”