Thanks to Brandon Woodruff, the Brewers bounced back from a late-inning collapse on Tuesday night to shutout the Pirates 3-0 on Wednesday night. The win moves the Brewers to 3-3 on the season as they make their way home for a weekend series against the hated Cardinals.
Stellar Pitching
The story of tonight’s game was the pitching of Brandon Woodruff. “Woody” fanned ten Pirates over six and a third innings, allowing just one hit. That one hit, a swinging bunt single, would be the only hit the Pirates could muster against the Crew. Woodruff’s fastball was electric, as he reached 98 on the radar gun multiple times.
Woodruff was relieved by David Phelps, who added two strikeouts of his own. Devin Williams pitched a perfect eighth, adding another strikeout. Josh Hader made his season debut in the ninth. He pitched a perfect inning, striking out one and earned the save.
Homer Heroes
Ben Gamel got the Brewers on the board in the third inning with a two-run home run that almost reached the river. Keston Hiura a towering solo shot to center to lead off the sixth inning. It was his seventh career home run at PNC Park and eighth against the Pirates. Pretty impressive for a guy with just 21 career home runs so far. His seven home runs at PNC matches the career total of Joey Votto, which makes his total all the more impressive.
Yelich Continues to Struggle
Brewers’ left fielder Christian Yelich continued his slow start to 2020, going 0-5 with three strikeouts. It is still early in the season, and he has hit the Cardinals well throughout his career, so there is hope on the horizon that a trip home against St. Louis will be all he needs. Despite the bad stat line, many feel Yelich was the victim of a poor strike three call late in the game.
Game Notes
- Jacob Nottingham is joining the Brewers in Milwaukee to take Bobby Wahl’s place on the roster.
- Brett Anderson will make his first start of the season against the Cardinals on Friday.
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