Misiorowski exits Brewers debut with leg cramps after holding Cardinals hitless for 5 innings

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski insisted he didn't realize he had a no-hitter going when the 23-year-old flamethrower took the mound for the sixth inning of his dazzling major league debut.

“I had no clue,” Misiorowski said after Milwaukee's 6-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night. “I thought one of the popups landed.”

The Brewers couldn't quite complete the no-no — but they might have gotten even better news. It appears the injury that knocked the 6-foot-7 right-hander out of the game wasn't serious.

Misiorowski, 23, had just thrown a third straight ball to Victor Scott to open the sixth when his foot landed awkwardly on the front of the mound. After Brewers medical staff went out to check on him, Misiorowski exited the game and Nick Mears came out of the bullpen.

The Brewers later said Misiorowski left due to cramping in his right calf and quadriceps.

“Of course, I don’t want to leave like that,” Misiorowski said. “I feel like I could have kept going, but I cramped up. Stuff happens.”

Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said Misiorowski also may have turned an ankle.

Misiorowski indicated there's no reason to worry.

“All good,” he replied to a postgame question about how he felt.

Until Misiorowski's untimely exit, his debut couldn't have gone much better as he showcased the elite velocity that made him one of baseball's top pitching prospects.

“I don't think it was anywhere near what I thought,” Misiorowski said. “I thought I was going to give up a few hits, get your ‘welcome to the show’ kind of experience. I just kind of rolled with it.”

Control always has been the concern as Misiorowski worked his way up the ladder in the Brewers' farm system, and he did have four walks Thursday. But he also struck out five while lighting up the radar gun all night.

He reached 100 mph with each of the first three pitches he threw to Lars Nootbaar to start the game. Two pitches later, Nootbaar fouled off a 102.2 mph offering. According to MLB.com, that 102.2 mph pitch was the fastest by any Brewers starter since pitch tracking began in 2008.

Statcast indicated 14 of the 81 pitches Misiorowski threw — including 11 of his first 24 — reached at least 100 mph. According to MLB.com, the only pitchers since 2008 to throw more pitches of at least 100 mph in their debuts were Hunter Greene in 2022, Erik Cordier in 2014, Paul Skenes in 2024 and Mason Miller in 2023.

“We've done a good job this year (against) guys we haven't faced and guys just coming up and making their debuts, just taking a good approach,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “But that's a different arm, man. He did a nice job. The velo is real. The extension is real.”

Misiorowski's velocity shouldn't have come as a surprise. While pitching for the Brewers’ Triple-A Nashville affiliate last month, Misiorowski threw a 103 mph pitch, the fastest recorded by a true starter in the majors or minors since Statcast began tracking in 2015.

In his big league debut, Misiorowski averaged 99.1 mph on 41 four-seam fastballs. He mixed in 24 sliders, 11 curveballs and two changeups, throwing 49 of 81 pitches for strikes. He got 13 swings and misses: seven on fastballs, four on sliders and one each on the curve and changeup.

“He was impressive every way you look at it,” Murphy said. “I think he was super nervous before the game, and that's to be expected, but I think he handled it really, really well.”

Now he must try to build on this sensational debut. Misiorowski's new teammates believe he's up to the challenge.

“I think he's shown that he's ready,” left-hander Aaron Ashby said. “He's asking the right questions. He's doing the right things. He's preparing himself the right way.”

Ashby allowed a leadoff single to Willson Contreras in the seventh that broke up Milwaukee's no-hit bid, but he worked three innings to earn his third career save. Ashby and Misiorowski both come from Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri, though they didn't play there at the same time.

The fact that Misiorowski said he felt fine after his worrisome finish should help Brewers fans sleep better before his next start.

They aren't alone in that regard. Misiorowski is happy he won't have to deal with another restless night now that his debut is out of the way.

“I haven't slept for probably two days,” he said. “It's going to be nice to go home and actually sleep.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, left, walks off the field with head athletic trainer Brad Epstein, second from left, during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski high-fives teammates after exiting a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals due to an ankle injury during the sixth inning of his major league debut Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski reacts after throwing his first strikeout, against St. Louis Cardinals' Willson Contreras, as he makes his major league debut during the second inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski throws his first strikeout, against St. Louis Cardinals' Willson Contreras, as he makes his major league debut during the second inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (33) walks through the dugout before warming up for his major league debut in a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, center, runs onto the field to warm up for his major league debut in a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski throws against St. Louis Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar as he makes his major league debut during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski throws against St. Louis Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar as he makes his major league debut during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Demonstrations broke out in Iran on Dec. 28 and have spread nationwide as protesters vent their increasing discontent over the Islamic Republic's faltering economy and the collapse of its currency. Dozens of people have been killed and thousands arrested as the daily protests have grown and the government seeks to contain them. While the initial focus had been on issues like spikes in the prices of food staples and the country's staggering annual inflation rate, protesters have now begun chanting anti-government statements as well.

Here is how the protests developed:

Dec. 28: Protests break out in two major markets in downtown Tehran, after the Iranian rial plunged to 1.42 million to the U.S. dollar, a new record low, compounding inflationary pressure and pushing up the prices of food and other daily necessities. The government had raised prices for nationally subsidized gasoline in early December, increasing discontent.

Dec. 29: Central Bank head Mohammad Reza Farzin resigns as the protests in Tehran spread to other cities. Police fire tear gas to disperse protesters in the capital.

Dec. 30: As protests spread to include more cities as well as several university campuses, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meets with a group of business leaders to listen to their demands and pledges his administration will “not spare any effort for solving problems” with the economy.

Dec. 31: Iran appoints Abdolnasser Hemmati as the countrys new central bank governor. Officials in southern Iran say that protests in the city of Fasa turned violent after crowds broke into the governor's office and injured police officers.

Jan. 1: The protests' first fatalities are officially reported, with authorities saying at least seven people have been killed. The most intense violence appears to be in Azna, a city in Iran’s Lorestan province, where videos posted online purport to show objects in the street ablaze and gunfire echoing as people shouted: “Shameless! Shameless!” The semiofficial Fars news agency reports three people were killed. Other protesters are reported killed in Bakhtiari and Isfahan provinces while a 21-year-old volunteer in the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force was killed in Lorestan.

Jan. 2: U.S. President Donald Trump raises the stakes, writing on his Truth Social platform that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States “will come to their rescue.” The warning, only months after American forces bombed Iranian nuclear sites, includes the assertion, without elaboration, that: “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” Protests, meantime, expand to reach more than 100 locations in 22 of Iran's 31 provinces, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Jan. 3: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says “rioters must be put in their place,” in what is seen as a green light for security forces to begin more aggressively putting down the demonstrations. Protests expand to more than 170 locations in 25 provinces, with at least 15 people killed and 580 arrested, HRANA reports.

Jan. 6: Protesters conduct a sit-in at Tehran's Grand Bazaar until security forces disperse them using tear gas. The death toll rises to 36, including two members of Iranian security forces, according to HRANA. Demonstrations have reached over 280 locations in 27 of Iran’s 31 provinces.

Jan. 8 to 9: Following a call from Iran's exiled crown prince, a mass of people shout from their windows and take to the streets in an overnight protest. The government responds by blocking the internet and international telephone calls, in a bid to cut off the country of 85 million from outside influence. HRANA says violence around the demonstrations has killed at least 42 people while more than 2,270 others have been detained.

Rising reported from Bangkok

FILE - Protesters march on a bridge in Tehran, Iran, on Dec. 29, 2025. (Fars News Agency via AP, File)