Brandon Woodruff shines as Brewers sweep Pittsburgh

April 20, 2022
|In Brewers
|By Zach Heilprin

MILWAUKEE — Brandon Woodruff was sharp and Milwaukee got some big hits to finish off a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh with a 4-2 win Wednesday afternoon at American Family Field.

Player of the Game: Brandon Woodruff

It was a second straight very strong outing from Woodruff. He went 6 innings, allowing just 1 hit and walking 2. After striking out just 2 batters over 5 innings against St. Louis in his last start, the big righty had 9 against the Pirates. Woodruff took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before former Brewers slugger Daniel Vogelbach dropped one into center to break it up. He finished the game with a season-high 95 pitches.

“I thought he was really locked in,” manager Craig Counsell said of Woodruff. “There were no free pitches for them. Every pitch they had to work — even to earn a ball because they were just right there.”

Since giving up seven runs in the opener against the Cubs, Woodruff has now gone 11 straight innings without allowing a run.

“Warming up in the bullpen before the game, I was a little worried,” Woodruff said afterward, according to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. “It was like, ‘Man, it’s not good today.’ You just get in the game and go from there. You figure it out.”

The good: The bombs

Rowdy Tellez and Keston Hiura provided the offense for Milwaukee with a pair of home runs. Tellez got the scoring going with a solo shot in the second inning to give him homers in back-to-back games and 3 on the year. Then it was Hiura drilling a 3-run shot in the seventh inning to give the Brewers a cushion they would need.

Milwaukee ended up hitting home runs in five of the seven games it played in the homestand and won four of those.

“If we hit home runs, it’s going to be OK,” Counsell said after Tuesday’s win over Pittsburgh.

The not so good: Brent Suter/Devin Williams

Milwaukee’s bullpen had a 4-0 lead going into the eighth inning but Suter and Williams were unable to shut the Pirates down. Suter gave up a pair of hits before giving way to Williams with two outs. The 2020 NL Reliever of the Year walked 1 and then allowed a 2-run single before getting a strike out to get out of the inning and limit the damage.

Williams has now given up at least 1 hit in four of his six appearances, as well as 7 walks and 4 runs. Suter has allowed 4 runs in just 3 1/3 innings this year and watched his ERA balloon to 10.80 after Wednesday’s outing.

Stat of the Game 6

That is how many saves Josh Hader has after coming on to pitch a scoreless ninth inning. The closer has been on the mound in six of the team’s eight wins and his saves total is tied for the most in MLB.

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In Case You Missed It

— Outfielder Hunter Renfroe has started to find his way at the plate a little bit. After going 2 for 3 with a run scored Wednesday, he is batting .310 with 1 home run, 3 doubles and 3 RBI in his last eight games. He also came up with a great diving grab to rob the Pirates of a hit in the second inning.

— Andrew McCutchen got the day off after being the team’s designated hitter in the first 12 games of the season.

— Milwaukee finished the homestand 5-2 to improve to 8-5 on the season.

“We had a good homestand,” Counsell said. “We pitched be pitched very well. That’s what we expect to do, so, you’ll take a 5-2 homestand every single time. It was nice way to finish it.”

What’s next?

Milwaukee will get Thursday off before opening a weekend series in Philadelphia.