Woodruff injury dents Milwaukee
One of Milwaukee’s biggest strengths just got a little weaker on the eve of the postseason.
Righthander Brandon Woodruff, slated as a potential Game 3 starter, will miss the NL Wild Card Series with a shoulder injury, leaving the Brewers without one of the top arms against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“It’s tough to have one of your better arms go down,” Brewers Game 1 starter Corbin Burnes said Monday. “Obviously we don’t know the extent of what’s going on and how long it’s going to be. But it means that it’s another opportunity for another guy to step up and fill his shoes and try to replicate what he would do out there on the mound.”
When Milwaukee and Arizona last met, the Diamondbacks were atop the AL West and the Brewers were scuffling, barely above .500 at 38-36.
That was June. The Brewers found the right gear, going 54-34 the rest of the way to win the NL Central by eight games.
The Diamondbacks went through a few difficult stretches after the series in Milwaukee, finally clinching their first playoff appearance since 2017 on the final weekend of the regular season.
Arizona closed the season with four straight losses
and scored two runs in a three-game sweep by the Astros. Now the Diamondbacks need to try finding a way to reignite their offense against a team that had time to rest players and line up its rotation.
Burnes, the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner, gets the ball for Game 1. Milwaukee’s ace has been sharp since allowing seven runs in five innings in a loss to the Diamondbacks on June 19. The righthander won four straight starts in July and closed the season by allowing just four runs over his last 222⁄3 innings.
After Burnes, Milwaukee likely will start Freddy Peralta for Game 2 instead of Woodruff. Peralta went 12-10 with a 3.86 ERA with 210 strikeouts in 1652⁄3 innings.
The Brewers also have one of the best bullpens in baseball, a combination that allowed them to lead the major leagues with a 3.71 ERA. All-Star Devin Williams anchors the pen after finishing with a 1.53 ERA while converting 36 of 40 save opportunities.
“We’re familiar with them? Yes,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo
said. “But they’re a different team. They’re in the playoffs, and anything’s possible.”
“I think we’re built to go all the way,” Brewers righthander Adrian Houser said.
Because the Diamondbacks had yet to clinch a playoff spot, they were forced to use Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly down the stretch, leaving neither available for Game 1.
That start will go to Brandon Pfaadt, The rookie righthander bounced between the big leagues and Class AAA Reno early in the season, but he pitched better late in the season.
Pfaadt had scoreless outings in two of his final three regular-season starts.
Gallen, Arizona’s ace, will likely pitch Game 2 with Kelly getting the ball in a potential Game 3. Those two went a combined 3-1 with a 1.67 ERA in four starts against Milwaukee this season.