The Milwaukee Brewers bounced back from their recent struggles with a convincing 6-1 victory over the Washington Nationals Friday night, but the win came with a concerning moment involving one of their key pitchers.
Wilson Contreras led the offensive charge, reaching base four times and driving in three RBIs as part of Milwaukee’s 12-hit attack. The Brewers had been scuffling lately at 5-5 over their last ten games, so getting the bats going was exactly what they needed.
The real story, though, was Jacob Misiorowski’s dominant performance on the mound – and how it ended.
Brilliant Start Cut Short
The 24-year-old right-hander was dealing through 5.1 innings, carrying a no-hitter while striking out eight Washington batters. Then something went wrong.
Jacob Misiorowski exits his start after 5.1 no-hit innings. The broadcast suspects it’s a cramp or lower-half injury of some sort pic.twitter.com/CeTOoc1PKK
Misiorowski signaled to the trainers during the inning, cutting short what was shaping up to be a special night. The Brewers later confirmed he’d been pulled due to a cramp in his right hamstring.
Not exactly what you want to see from a young pitcher who’s been working to establish himself this season.
Cautious Optimism
Manager Pat Murphy tried to strike a reassuring tone when talking to reporters after the game, though he’s clearly being careful not to rush things.
“We’ll see where it is tomorrow. We’re very hopeful.”
Brewers Manager, Pat Murphy on Jacob Misiorowski’s apparent hamstring tightness.
Misiorowski exited the game after 5.1 no-hit innings.
Final score: @Brewers 6 @Nationals 1
“We feel pretty good about it,” Murphy told the press. “We’re not going to test it right now because we’re afraid he might cramp again, so we’ll see what it is tomorrow.”
That’s the right approach with a young arm, especially considering how Misiorowski’s season has gone so far.
The timing isn’t great for the right-hander, who’s been working through some early-season inconsistency. He’s sitting at 1-2 with a 3.31 ERA and 1.10 WHIP through his first handful of starts – numbers that aren’t terrible but show there’s still room for improvement.
What makes Friday night’s performance encouraging is how he was attacking the zone and missing bats. Eight strikeouts through 5.1 innings while keeping Washington completely off the board? That’s the kind of outing that builds confidence.
Now it’s just a matter of making sure this hamstring issue doesn’t turn into something more problematic. With Milwaukee trying to get back on track after their recent rough patch, they need Misiorowski healthy and contributing every fifth day.
The Brewers should know more about his status over the weekend, but for now, they’ll take the win and hope Friday’s scare was just a minor bump in the road.
