Getting it done with kids’ play
Woodruff shines in his debut while Arica sparkles with bat, arm
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Brandon Woodruff’s first majorleague start was worth the wait.
Making it 52 days after he was originally supposed to in St. Louis – when his debut derailed by a strained hamstring suffered while warming up, – the right-hander turned in a gutsy 6 1/3 shutout innings on Friday night.
He allowed seven hits – all singles – and two walks while striking out six as the Milwaukee Brewers edged the Tampa Bay Rays, 2-0, at Tropicana Field.
“You know, when that happened in St. Louis, I was pretty
torn up about it,” Woodruff said. “But that was for sure worth the wait.”
Helping Woodruff record that first victory was another youngster, Orlando Arcia, who carried the load offensively.
Celebrating his 23rd birthday, Arcia finished a double short of the cycle while scoring both runs. He also turned in another of his signature defensive plays with a pinpoint relay throw in the seventh inning that cut down the potential tying run at the plate with the score 1-0.
“He had a heck of a game,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He was the offense tonight and he was the defense tonight, too. Like Manny (Piña is) shining with the pickoffs, now Orlando’s really shining with the relay throws — and it’s a real weapon.”
By virtue of their victory and a loss by the Chicago Cubs, the Brewers are now back to within a half-game of first place in the National League Central.
Woodruff opened his night as well as a pitcher making his debut could hope for, with a swinging strikeout of leadoff man Corey Dickerson. Then came a bunch of highstress pitches, as the Rays loaded the bases against him in both the first and second innings. But Woodruff was able to escape unscathed each time by inducing ground outs.
The Brewers grabbed the lead in the third, with Arcia tripling to left-center to open against Jake Faria and scoring on a single to right by Eric Thames. It was the first triple by Milwaukee in 41 games — a franchise record.
Woodruff finished up by retiring nine of the final 10 batters he faced.
“I was just trying to take it one pitch at a time,” Woodruff said. “It wasn’t that I was too rattled or anything, I just knew that if I could make a good pitch, something good would happen.
“I was fortunate to get out of those first two innings, and that propelled me a little bit.”
The 24-year-old’s debut was originally supposed to occur on June 13 in the first game of a doubleheader in St. Louis, but it wound up being Brent Suter who took Woodruff’s place after he was injured.
Now both are in the Brewers’ rotation.
Woodruff became the 14th pitcher in Brewers history to win his majorleague debut as a starter, and the first since Jorge Lopez on Sept. 29, 2015.
“This is what you dream of coming into the big leagues,” Woodruff said. “You want to help the team win first. I just wanted to put them in a good position to win. This is what every kid dreams of, and I’m glad it happened this way.”
Josh Hader took over for Woodruff and issued a walk to Dickerson to open. After he fanned Lucas Duda for the second out, Evan Longoria roped a double into the left-field corner. Dickerson was waved around third, but a picture-perfect relay from Ryan Braun to Arcia to Piña cut the Rays’ leadoff hitter down at the plate to end the seventh.
Arcia then opened the eighth by booming a home run to left off Sergio Romo to give the Brewers a little more breathing room.
Arcia was asked afterward which he was more pleased with — the throw or the offense he provided. “The throw, for sure,” he said. “It was a perfect throw from Brauny and a good throw from me and then Piña catching it and putting a good tag down. The whole combination, it was just a great play overall.” BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
Among the of moves made on Friday was outfielder Lewis Brinson being optioned to Class AAA Colorado Springs. Brinson hit .125 with a pair of homers over seven games in his second stint with Milwaukee.
Counsell said it was too early to guess how long catcher Jett Bandy will be out with his fractured rib. It’s expected he’ll miss at least two weeks, meaning Stephen Vogt will return in the meantime assuming no setbacks in his recovery from a sprained left knee. STAT SHEET
Woodruff became the fifth Brewer to make his major-league debut this season, joining Paolo Espino (May 19), Brett Phillips (June 5), Josh Hader (June 10) and Brinson (June 11).
The victory was the Brewers’ 1,500th as a member of the National League. TAKEAWAY
It was all about the youngsters in this one. Woodruff got better as the game went along and wound up tossing a quality start his first time out, and Arcia did the rest with his bat and his arm. A nice start to the road trip. RECORD
This year: 58-53 (31-27 home; 27-26 away)
Last year: 49-62 NEXT GAME
Friday: Brewers at Rays, 5:10 p.m. Milwaukee RHP Zach Davies (12-5, 4.42) vs. Tampa Bay RHP Alex Cobb (9-7, 3.89). TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.