Brewers take series finale in Miami thanks to Woodruff's stellar return

Milwaukee Brewers fans seemingly held a cautious optimism heading into Brandon Woodruff's long-awaited return to the starting rotation, unsure of whether or not it was fair to expect their former ace to live up to the expectations that he rightfully earned prior to his nearly two-year absence from the game.

Within the span of about 10 minutes after Woody threw his first pitch, that caution melted away and transformed into full-blown glee. In that span, Woodruff struck out the first batter he faced with an elevated four-seam fastball (a vintage Woody K) earned a one-pitch out against one of Miami's best hitters in Jesús Sánchez, and froze Otto Lopez with a fastball on the inner half, completing a perfect first inning with just 10 pitches.

Woodruff's efficient outing continued with a seven-pitch second inning, which included another strikeout — this time on an 80 mph sweeper. Though Woody hasn't thrown a sweeper in years past, the breaking ball that he was throwing today was distinct from the curveball that he threw in 2023, with nearly 10 more inches of horizontal break, and distinct from his slider, which he threw nearly 20% of the time this afternoon, that averages nearly 10 mph more in velocity, according to Baseball Savant.

In the third inning, Woody finally surrendered his first base runner after Marlins' left fielder Heriberto Hernandez singled on a line drive to left field. However, Woodruff made quick work of the next three hitters and was out of the inning before you knew it.

Thankfully, the Brewers offense added some run support in the top of the frame on a two-run homer from Jackson Chourio — his 15th long ball of the season — which came after the Brewers challenged and subsequently overturned an out call at first base on an infield single from Christian Yelich.

Those two runs were all Woodruff needed to earn his first major league win in nearly two years.

Brandon Woodruff tosses six-inning two-hitter in first start since September 2023

The Woody show continued through the sixth inning, at which point the 32-year-old right-hander had collected eight strikeouts, surrendered a solo homer to Hernandez, and thrown just 70 pitches. However, in a display of caution, Pat Murphy decided to pull his veteran starter before the seventh inning commenced, turning things over to the bullpen.

The Brewers relievers shut things down in emphatic fashion with the combination of Grant Anderson, Abner Uribe, and Trevor Megill allowing just one hit, with the latter two each collecting a pair of strikeouts in their lone innings of work.

In the end, it was a great game not only for Woody, but for the Brewers organization as a whole. They took a chance by betting on their former ace when things were looking bleak, and today's win is the culmination of months of hard work, constant displays of resilience, and Woodruff's dedication to continuing his craft despite numerous obstacles being thrown his way.

Number 53's next start should come at his home ballpark, American Family Field. Assuming the Brewers keep him on a regular schedule, it will be an afternoon start against the Washington Nationals next Saturday. It's sure to be a popular ticket.