Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski loses perfect game, no-hit bid in 7th vs. Twins in 2nd career start

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers lost his bid for a perfect game in the seventh inning of a 17-6 win against the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.

After issuing a walk to Byron Buxton, Matt Wallner lofted a home run to the flower bed just past the right-field wall, ending Misiorowski’s run of hitless innings to start his big league career at 11, the first starter to do that since 1900.

“I think this is exactly how I ever dreamed of it coming along," the 23-year-old rookie said. "It’s exciting.”

He threw five no-hit innings against St. Louis on June 12, but left in the sixth with cramping in his right calf and quadriceps.

“I felt calmer and ready to go compared to the first one," Misiorowski said. "Nerves were going pretty heavy on the first one, so it’s good to finally feel the feet under you.”

The 6-foot-7 right-hander struck out six with a fastball topping out at 102.1 mph and a slider and changeup in the mid-90s.

“It’s important to prove to yourself as a young player that you belong in the big leagues and taste success and realize that you do belong here,” said Christian Yelich, who had a career-high eight RBIs. “He should believe he’s a really good major league pitcher because he is. All the nights probably aren’t going to go as smooth as the first two, but you see the ability.

"He’s got a chance to something special every night he goes out there.”

Misiorowski is the only big leaguer since 1900 to have more wins (two) than hits allowed (one) in his first two career starts, according to OptaSTATS.

“He was attacking, but mixing, too," manager Pat Murphy said. "It wasn’t just heaters.”

After seeing four straight pitches of at least 100.8 mph from Misiorowski, Willi Castro twisted like a corkscrew and dropped to the ground as he struck out on a 95.5 mph slider in the first inning.

“You don’t see a guy throwing a slider 95, 96," Castro said. "It’s really hard to pick up.”

Misiorowski threw 29 pitches of 100 mph or higher and had 12 of 101 mph or more. Since tracking started in 2008, the only starting pitchers to throw more in a game at 101 mph and above are Hunter Greene (33 on Sept. 17, 2022, 21 on March 30, 2023, 18 on July 26, 2022, and 13 on April 16, 2022) and Jordan Hicks (on July 12, 2022), according to Major League Baseball.

After the homer by Wallner, Misiorowski was pulled for reliever Nick Mears and left to a standing ovation. He threw 86 pitches, 60 for strikes, and departed with Milwaukee leading 8-2.

The Brewers scored five runs in the top of the seventh, a long time for starter to sit in the dugout, but Misiorowski was adamant about going back to the mound.

He said, ’Yes I’m getting toward the end, but I want to challenge myself,'" Murphy said. “It was a good time to have him do that.”

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Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (32) returns to the dugout after giving up a two-run home run to the Minnesota Twins in the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, June 20, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (32) returns to the dugout after throwing against the Minnesota Twins in the third inning of a baseball game Friday, June 20, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski throws to the Minnesota Twins in the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, June 20, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski throws to the Minnesota Twins in the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 20, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski throws to the Minnesota Twins in the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 20, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Monday. He was 74.

Ahn, who had suffered blood cancer for years, was pronounced dead at Seoul's Soonchunhyang University Hospital, his agency, the Artist Company, and hospital officials said.

“We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family members," the Artist Company said in a statement.

President Lee Jae Myung issued a condolence message saying Ahn provided many people with comfort, joy and time for reflection. “I already miss his warm smile and gentle voice,” Lee wrote on Facebook.

Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made his debut as a child actor in the movie “The Twilight Train” in 1957. He subsequently appeared in about 70 movies as a child actor before he left the film industry to live an ordinary life.

In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a Vietnamese major. Ahn said he graduated with top honors but failed to land jobs at big companies, who likely saw his Vietnamese major largely useless after a communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975.

Ahn returned to the film industry in 1977 believing he could still excel in acting. In 1980, he rose to fame for his lead role in Lee Jang-ho’s “Good, Windy Days,” a hit coming-of-age movie about the struggle of working-class men from rural areas during the country’s rapid rise. Ahn won the best new actor award in the prestigious Grand Bell Awards, the Korean version of the Academy Awards.

He later starred in a series of highly successful and critically acclaimed movies, sweeping best actor awards and becoming arguably the country’s most popular actor in much of the 1980-90s.

Some of his memorable roles included a Buddhist monk in 1981’s “Mandara,” a beggar in 1984’s “Whale Hunting,” a Vietnam War veteran-turned-novelist in 1992’s “White Badge,” a corrupt police officer in 1993’s “Two Cops,” a murderer in 1999’s “No Where To Hide,” a special forces trainer in 2003’s “Silmido” and a devoted celebrity manager in 2006’s “Radio Star.”

Ahn had collected dozens of trophies in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South Korean actors have matched yet.

Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.”

Ahn said he earlier felt confined with his “The Nation's Actor” labeling but eventually thought that led him down the right path. In recent years, local media has given other stars similar honorable nicknames, but Ahn was apparently the first South Korean actor who was dubbed “The Nation's Actor.”

“I felt I should do something that could match that title. But I think that has eventually guided me on a good direction,” Ahn said in an interview with Yonhap news agency in 2023.

In media interviews, Ahn couldn’t choose what his favorite movie was, but said that his role as a dedicated, hardworking manger for a washed-up rock singer played by Park Jung-hoon resembled himself in real life the most.

Ahn was also known for his reluctance to do love scenes. He said said he was too shy to act romantic scenes and sometimes asked directors to skip steamy scenes if they were only meant to add spice to movies.

“I don’t do well on acting like looking at someone who I don’t love with loving eyes and kissing really romantically. I feel shy and can’t express such emotions well,” Ahn said in an interview with the Shindonga magazine in 2007. “Simply, I’m clumsy on that. So I couldn’t star in such movies a lot. But ultimately, that was a right choice for me.”

Ahn is survived by his wife and their two sons. A mourning station at a Seoul hospital was to run until Friday.

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki smiles for a photo on the red carpet at the 56th Daejong Film Awards ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, June 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki attends an event as part of the 11th Pusan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)