The Milwaukee Brewers can breathe a collective sigh of relief. What looked like a potential disaster Friday night has turned into a much more manageable situation for one of their most electric young arms.
Jacob Misiorowski, the 24-year-old flamethrower, appears to have dodged a major injury after exiting his start against the Washington Nationals with a right hamstring issue. Brewers manager Pat Murphy delivered the encouraging update Saturday, telling reporters he believes Misiorowski is "going to be fine." That's music to the ears of a Milwaukee club that has already been navigating a crowded injury list.
The scare came during what was shaping up to be a signature performance. Misiorowski was absolutely dealing Friday night, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning of the Brewers' 6-1 victory. He was overpowering from the first pitch, striking out eight batters and sitting at an eye-popping 101 mph on his fastball early in the game. In total, he threw 43 pitches that registered between 100 and 103 mph. He retired 11 consecutive batters before the trouble began.
After striking out the first batter of the sixth inning, Misiorowski threw just one pitch to leadoff hitter James Wood before signaling for the trainer. For a moment, the Brewers dugout—and really the entire baseball world—held its breath. When a pitcher with that kind of high-velocity arsenal calls for help, the immediate fear is for the arm. Fortunately, the issue was with his hamstring, not his golden right arm.
The timing is particularly tricky for Milwaukee. Veteran right-hander Brandon Woodruff was placed on the injured list Friday with shoulder inflammation, and the club is still waiting for Quinn Priester to return from a rehab assignment. Every arm matters in a long season, and losing Misiorowski for any extended period would have been a serious blow.
For now, the Brewers appear to have avoided that worst-case scenario. If Murphy's optimism proves correct, Misiorowski could be back on the mound sooner rather than later, ready to unleash that triple-digit heat once again.
