Brandon Woodruff was just happy to finally be back on the mound Monday against the Cincinnati Reds.
Imagine how the Milwaukee Brewers’ right-hander felt after throwing 5 1/3 perfect innings in a 2-1, 10-inning win.
Woodruff will take the mound again Sunday against the Cubs in Milwaukee in the rubber match of the three-game set after the Cubs won 8-2 Saturday.
Woodruff (2-1, 3.00 ERA) had not pitched since April 30 when he went on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation. He allowed just one hit and no walks with 10 strikeouts.
He also collected his 900th career strikeout when he struck out Matt McLain in the third inning. He finished the game with 906 strikeouts, good enough for sixth on the Brewers’ all-time list.
“I didn’t know if I was going to start or not,” Woodruff said. “When they told me, I was a little surprised. I knew I was up for it and I was really excited. It is a big honor to start the first game of the series. It shows that (manager Pat Murphy) has some trust in me. I really appreciate it. I just tried to go out and compete and treat it like it was any other day.”
Woodruff retired the first 16 batters he faced before Tyler Stephenson ended the bid with a one-out single in the sixth.
The 33-year-old is 55-29 with a 3.10 ERA in 149 career games (134 starts), all with Milwaukee.
He is 2-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 19 games (17 starts) against the Cubs.
The Cubs will give reliever Ryan Rolison (5-1, 1.82 ERA) his second start of the season Sunday.
The southpaw’s last start was as an opener June 14 against the San Francisco Giants. He gave up no hits or runs in 1 1/3 innings in a game the Cubs went on to lose 5-1.
Rolison is 6-1 with a 4.88 ERA in 56 career appearances, including two starts.
He is 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA in two games against the Brewers.
Chicago has multiple starters on the IL, including Cade Horton, who is out for the season.
The Cubs traded for David Peterson on Wednesday, and it paid off right away on Saturday.
The left-hander, who had spent his entire seven-year career with the New York Mets, allowed just two runs over 5 2/3 innings Saturday as the Cubs beat the Brewers for the first time this season.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell was happy to see something positive on the mound.
“We have to get through this time of pitching loss,” he said. “We need to get the team through this phase and come out on the other side.
“Ton of credit to David. That is not an easy thing to do. But he showed professionalism and grit. They were aggressive swingers, but he threw a ton of strikes.”
Ian Happ took care of the offense as he sparked a four-run sixth inning with a three-run home run.
The blast was his 17th, tying him with Pete Crow-Armstrong for the team lead.
It was Happ’s 190th home run, tying him with Hack Wilson for 11th in team history.
Happ was in awe of being among the Cubs’ home run leaders.
“It is pretty crazy to think about,” he said. “So much history here so to be on that list is pretty cool.”
-Field Level Media
