The Milwaukee Brewers are all of a sudden feeling a little shallow when it comes to starting pitching. When the season started, the starting rotation was believed to be the team’s biggest strength. Unfortunately, Adrian Houser and Freddy Peralta are on the IL and Eric Lauer has not been able to replicate the dominance he showed in May. That is why the return of Brandon Woodruff, who missed a month with an ankle injury, is so important. Even better is the fact that he has been much more like his old self in his two starts since returning.
Brandon Woodruff Throws a Quality Start
In his first start back from IL, Brandon Woodruff threw five innings of one-run ball while striking out 10 Tampa Bay Rays players. It was just his second start of the season in which he had 10+ strikeouts. While Woodruff did not reach double-digit strikeouts today, he did toss six innings of shutout ball while striking out eight.
Brandon Woodruff, 98mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/C10pRObtVf
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 3, 2022
To highlight just how good Woodruff has been since returning from IL, his ERA has dropped from 4.74 to 3.95 in his last two starts.
Omar Narvaez Provided the Pop
The lone runs of the game were scored on an Omar Narvaez two-run home run in the fifth inning.
Omar Narvaez leaves the park! pic.twitter.com/kYNLm88LUq
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 3, 2022
Narvaez hit the ball out of PNC Park for just his third home run of the season. It was his first big blast since May 9. Not surprisingly, Would it dong? calculated that his home run would have been a home run in every ballpark in Major League Baseball.
Omar Narvaez vs Zach Thompson#ThisIsMyCrew
Home Run 💣
Exit velo: 106.4 mph
Launch angle: 33 deg
Proj. distance: 427 ftNo doubt about that one 🔒
That's a dinger in all 30 MLB ballparksMIL (2) @ PIT (0)
🔺 5th pic.twitter.com/5D6vVm0JRg— Would it dong? (@would_it_dong) July 3, 2022
Related: Rowdy Tellez and Willy Adames combine for 9 RBI in Brewers 19-2 win over Pirates
Josh Hader Notches His 25th Save of the Season
After Brad Boxberger and Devin Williams pitched scoreless innings, Josh Hader came into the game for the save. It got interesting, though, as Pittsburgh was able to load the bases against him with two outs. However, Hader got Brian Reynolds to fly out for the final out of the game, sealing the victory.
Sex is great but have you ever watched Josh Hader load the bases and then get the save anyway on a lazy fly ball to Christian Yelich?
— Dan Port (@DanPort) July 3, 2022
Game Notes
- Christian Yelich was 1-4 on the day; though seemingly insignificant, the hit extended his hit streak to 12 games.
- The Brewers activated catcher Pedro Severino prior to today’s game; Tyrone Taylor was placed on the seven-day IL with a concussion.
- Willy Adames, Luis Urias, and Jace Peterson each notched one hit for the Brewers.
- The win today ensures that Milwaukee will remain in first place in front of the St. Louis Cardinals, who play Philadelphia later tonight. The Brewers had a one-game lead in the division entering play today.
- Milwaukee is 46-35 through 81 games, on pace for 92 wins.
Up Next
The Milwaukee Brewers return home for a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs. Eric Lauer (6-3, 4.02 ERA) will take the mound against Justin Steele (3-4, 4.39 ERA) on Monday July 4 at 3:10 CST
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