MILWAUKEE -- Rehabbing Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff worked a season-high seven innings without allowing an earned run for High-A Wisconsin on Wednesday in the latest step of his long journey back to the Brewers’ rotation.
The plan calls for Woodruff to pitch once more in the Minors on Tuesday for Triple-A Nashville before the Brewers consider bringing him back for what would be his first Major League start since injuring his right shoulder in a Sept. 23, 2023, outing in Miami -- possibly in the middle of Milwaukee's next homestand.
“It went pretty good,” Woodruff told reporters in Grand Chute, Wis., after his 74-pitch outing -- which turned into a complete-game, 5-1 win when the game was called because of rain just after he finished the seventh. “It’s been a week since I’ve thrown, just with schedule issues and weather. It’s like I couldn’t escape the rain every time I tried to throw. All in all, a good day.”
He added, “Hopefully, just one more.”
But as has already been made clear, that plan hinges on the 32-year-old’s health.
Woodruff was on a path to be back in the Brewers’ rotation sooner, but just as his first 30-day rehab assignment was ending, he developed tendinitis in his right ankle. That meant a brief shutdown, followed by the start of a new rehab assignment on May 21.
Tuesday marked the second start of the second rehab stint, and it was an efficient outing for the Brewers’ Midwest League affiliate, about 90 miles north of the Brewers-Red Sox game at American Family Field. Pitching with a fastball that topped out at 92 mph and sat in the 90 mph range most of the afternoon, he retired his first 10 hitters, faced the minimum through four innings, was tagged with an unearned run on a throwing error in the fifth and then extended his outing thanks to a brisk, four-pitch sixth.
With a heavy rain falling, Woodruff completed a seventh inning with a strikeout on an offspeed pitch to finish with this line against Peoria, a Cardinals affiliate: Seven innings, five hits, one run (unearned), no walks and six strikeouts.
“They were just super aggressive, so I was just trying to get to a pitch count [of] 80-85 pitches,” Woodruff said. “I wasn’t able to get there, but that’s OK. Close enough. The stuff’s playing pretty good, so I’m excited about that.”
Woodruff’s previous high for innings pitched this season was 5 2/3, back on April 30 for Wisconsin as he ping-ponged between the Brewers’ High-A and Triple-A affiliates.