Woodruff dominates in 4-1 victory over Yankees

Box Score

Last night, the Brewers bullpen did the heavy lifting, going six innings of work while allowing just one run. With six arms used in the win, it was important to get a strong outing out of Brandon Woodruff and allow for the bullpen to get some rest during the stretch run.

Woodruff delivered.

The right-hander gave the Brewers eight innings of one-run baseball, striking out 10 en route to a 4-1 victory over the Yankees.

Woodruff’s fastball was as electric as it has been all season. He opened the game with a pair of strikeouts in each of the first three innings, three of which flew the fastball by for strike three. He was also very efficient on the night. Four of his eight innings of work required 10 or fewer pitches, with the highlight being a five-pitch seventh. Only once did his inning pitch count break twenty — the fifth — and he allowed just one walk.

The only blemish on the resume was a solo home run by Josh Donaldson to lead off the fourth. Following the home run, Woodruff retired the next three on just six pitches, forcing two groundouts and a flyout to keep the Yankees off the board.

With Woodruff moving through the Yankee lineup, the red-hot Willy Adames provided some offensive assistance. In the third, Victor Caratini led off the inning with a walk. Following a Garrett Mitchell strikeout and a Christian Yelich single, Willy Adames launched his 30th home run of the season, giving the Brewers a 3-0 lead. With that home run, Adames set the franchise record for most home runs in a season by a shortstop, surpassing Robin Yount’s 29 that he hit in 1982. His 30 home runs also put him in a tie with Rowdy Tellez, as the Brewers become the first National League team to have a pair of 30-plus home run performers in 2022.

The Brewers would add to their lead in the fifth. Up 3-1, Mitchell got on with a single. Up next, Yelich knocked a double off the wall in right, allowing Mitchell an opportunity to show off his speed as he went first to home, extending the Brewers’ advantage to 4-1.

With a 4-1 lead, Woodruff’s efficiency went up. In the sixth, he put the Yankees down in order via groundout, flyout, and three-pitch strikeout, totaling just seven pitches. In the seventh, following a hit batter on the first pitch, he needed just four more pitches to get out of the inning.

Finally, in the eighth, a walk to Judge was followed up by a quick strikeout to Stanton and a first-pitch double play to Torres. In total, Woodruff needed just 22 pitches to get through the final three innings holding a 4-1 lead.

In the ninth, Devin Williams shut the door on the first-place Yankees. Williams made a nice play on a sharp grounder back to the mound from Donaldson to get the first out. From there, back-to-back strikeouts of Miguel Andujar and Oswaldo Cabrera secured his 13th save of the season and a 4-1 victory for the Brewers.

Winners of seven of their last nine, the Brewers are currently 1.5 games back of the Padres and two games behind the Phillies for the final wild card spot. Still in the hunt for the postseason, the Brewers will try to finish off a sweep of the Yankees Sunday at 1:10 pm. Jason Alexander will get the start for the Brewers against Gerrit Cole of the Yankees.