Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff cruised through the first five innings against Arizona on Monday, but his start unraveled quickly in a five-run sixth that all but erased a 6-0 lead. Milwaukee held on to win, however, 7-5, and despite the sour finish Woodruff liked his outing, his ninth of the season. Postgame, he fielded questions in typical glass-half-full fashion.
Milwaukee Brewers get dazzling first five from Woodruff
Unable to complete the sixth inning, Woodruff left with an accordingly strange final line: 5.2 IP, 5 hits, 5 runs, 1 walk and 8 strikeouts. At one point, he retired 14 straight hitters. He also threw a season-high 97 pitches, which, while reflective of his struggles late, is another good sign as he ramps up from his nearly two-year layoff.
“Yeah, it was a good night,” Woodruff said. “I think way too many positives outweigh the, kind of, outcome of the outing. Look, the main thing is we won the game, which is huge for us. But yeah the sixth inning, that’s just one of those innings that you just kind of chalk up to a baseball inning, and I haven’t had one of those up to this point. I was throwing the ball well. Just had some things not go my way.”
Capped off by a three-run homerun from left fielder Lourdes Gurriel, Arizona’s rally also benefited from a stroke or two of luck. A hit batsman on a pitch that Woodruff thought was a “borderline strike call.” A swinging bunt. That five-batter blip was the only smudge on the start, it just happened to be a big one.
“You just chalk that one up to a baseball inning and move on,” the pitcher said.
To Woodruff’s credit, he stuck around to get the next two hitters. With his pitch count near 100, the Brewers then brought in Aaron Ashby to face left-handed DH Adrian Del Castillo.
“That’s important for me,” Woodruff said of being able to reach that threshold and grind it out like he did on Monday. “I know what’s probably going to be asked, not only of myself but of the rest of the guys here down the stretch. The bullpen’s been working a lot, and that was a big thing. I wanted to get through the sixth, and potentially pitch into the seventh, and that inning kind of happened. I was fighting to stay out there, but yeah, that’s huge. I just gotta keep taking care of my body.”
Still able to rear back for 95 when he needs it, Woodruff has overcome setbacks time and again to return to a big-league mound. Not only that, he’s pitching at a level not far off from his prime self. He wants to make sure he stays out there.
“You know, honestly, we win baseball games, my main concern is being healthy and making it to the next outing, and worrying about winning that one when it gets there. That’s all I’m focused on.”
Coming off a pair of rocky starts, Woodruff now has a 3.10 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in 49.1 innings. His 63 strikeouts give him a 5.3 K/BB ratio reminiscent of his dominant pre-injury days, while he has allowed half as many hits, 31, as whiffs.
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