WASHINGTON -- At the beginning of the season, the Brewers had a frankly drastic starting pitcher shortage.
Brandon Woodruff, Aaron Civale, DL Hall and Aaron Ashby were all out for the entirety of April and didn’t return until the calendar flipped to May. Jose Quintana wasn’t activated until mid-April, after signing with Milwaukee on March 5, and it wasn’t until the second week of April that the club acquired Quinn Priester from the Red Sox.
Now, there’s a surplus -- even with Civale being dealt to the White Sox. It’s a great thing to have. And even better with how well Woodruff has done after being out of commission for all of 2024 (Tommy John surgery).
Making his fifth start of the season since being activated on July 6, Woodruff delivered his fourth quality start while holding the Nats to just one hit over six innings in the Brewers’ 8-2 win on Saturday afternoon at Nationals Park. Milwaukee is now 17-4 since Woodruff’s return.
Woodruff got some help from his offense, with the Crew’s fourth double-digit-hits game (15 hits) in their past six matchups. The bats, coming off a season-high 25-hit performance on Friday night, stayed hot, with a three-run first inning driven by four hits -- including a leadoff double from Sal Frelick -- and a walk. Joey Ortiz and Christian Yelich led off the second and third innings, respectively, with extra-base hits (and runs scored) of their own: A double from Ortiz and a first-pitch home run by Yelich.
And of course, Woodruff had the help of his defense ... literally. On just the second play of the game, Woodruff fielded a ball back to the mound from James Wood and tossed to first for the out, setting the tone for his start, consistently keeping the Nats off the bases. Woodruff allowed just two runs, coming on his lone walk followed by a two-run homer from Robert Hassell III, to go with eight strikeouts.