Woodruff keeps the hopes alive
In a game the Milwaukee Brewers absolutely had to have, two of their best players stepped to the forefront and delivered Saturday night.
Brandon Woodruff was dominant, retiring a career-best 19 consecutive batters from the second through eighth inning, and Ryan Braun homered to kick-start the offense as the Brewers kept their postseason hopes alive with a convincing 3-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
Daniel Vogelbach also homered and Orlando Arcia was 4 for 4 to power a nine-hit attack.
Woodruff, meanwhile, allowed two singles and a walk while striking out 10 as he almost single-handedly prevented the Cardinals from clinching a playoff berth on their home field.
"The story of the game was Woody," said manager Craig Counsell. "It was as good a start that we've seen since the (CC) Sabathia start at the end of '08, in a big game, a regular-season game.
"To deliver right there and not only deliver but to help us tomorrow, it can't be understated what he did."
Milwaukee needs to beat the Cardinals again Sunday if it wants to clinch a third consecutive postseason berth for the first time in franchise history. A loss by the Philadelphia Phillies later Saturday helped the cause, as would a loss Saturday or Sunday by the San Francisco Giants.
Following the theme of the road trip, it was more offensive frustration in the early going as the Brewers went down in order on just 14 pitches against Adam Wainwright.
Then in the third, Arcia doubled
with one out and Omar Narváez singled against the shift to put runners on the corners for the top of the order, only to have Avisaíl García strike out and Christian Yelich ground out.
Things changed quickly to begin the fourth when Braun and Vogelbach hit consecutive homers in a span of three pitches.
Braun's homer sailed into the St. Louis bullpen in right-center and came in his 95th career at-bat against the venerable Wainwright while Vogelbach's carried out to center and was his fourth in 18 games since being claimed off waivers by the Brewers.
"I thought we did a good job against Wainwright tonight," said Counsell. "He limited the damage, effectively really limited it. We hit a lot of balls hard tonight and took a couple balls out of the park to really put runs on the board. He's always a challenge for us. "But the home runs were really nice." Braun had been 1 for 16 (.063) and Milwaukee as a unit had gone deep only five times and scored 13 runs in the six games since leaving Miller Park for the final time.
"Obviously, we've struggled as a group offensively and we've struggled to score runs," Braun said. "Any time you can score early — and for us, the fourth inning has to be considered early at this point — the fact that we were able to get some runs before the opposition was incredibly encouraging."
Woodruff, who entered the game on a personal two-game losing streak and having not won a game since Aug. 25, allowed a pair of singles in his first two innings but wasn't overly efficient in throwing 34 pitches.
He tightened things up considerably
Ryan Braun of the Brewers rounds third after smacking a solo home run to right field during the fourth inning Saturday night.
from there.
After Yadier Molina led off the second with an infield single, Woodruff retired the next 19 batters with seven strikeouts.
There was very little hard contact made over that span, and Woodruff even made a terrific play by springing off the mound to throw the speedy Kolten Wong out by a step at first base on a bunt attempt in the sixth.
Wainwright allowed only an Arcia single and Yelich walk following Vogelbach's
homer until it was Arcia again getting things going for the Brewers with a two-out double to center in the seventh.
Narváez, mired in a miserable, season-long slump at the plate, followed with a sharp single to center to score Arcia and up Milwaukee's lead to 3-0. García then singled, and that was all for Wainwright.
Andrew Miller entered and walked Yelich but struck out Braun, leaving the Brewers to settle for the lone run.
Woodruff (3-5) was still throwing 98 mph when he struck out Paul DeJong to start the eighth. Matt Carpenter followed by drawing the first walk of the night from Woodruff, who responded by striking Dexter Fowler out on a 97-mph fastball.
A lineout to left by Dylan Carlson capped Woodruff 's night at 108 pitches.
"Yep, I think so," Woodruff said when asked if it was the best game he ever pitched. "I can't describe it. I love throwing in these types of games. It's just what I like doing. I just feel like I can slow the game down."
Josh Hader pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to record his 13th save and insure the Brewers' season will indeed be decided on the final day of the regular season.
"This was essentially the equivalent of a Wild Card game for us," said Braun. "It was win or go home. If we lost today, it's over."
RECORD
Overall: 29-30 Home: 15-14 Away: 14-16
COMING UP
Sunday: Brewers at Cardinals, 2:15 p.m. Milwaukee LHP Brett Anderson (4-3, 4.00) vs. St. Louis TBA. TV: FS Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.