The Milwaukee Brewers lost two of their All-Star starting pitchers to the injured list within eight days of each other in late May with Freddy Peralta going down with a shoulder issue and Brandon Woodruff suffering an ankle sprain. One of them made a significant positive step on Thursday toward a potential return to action.
Brandon Woodruff is throwing off a mound for the first time since injuring his ankle 13 days ago, he said.
— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) June 9, 2022
Woodruff has posted a 5-3 record with a 4.74 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with 53 strikeouts over 43 2/3 innings covering nine starts this season. While he went just 9-10 in 2021, the righty also finished with career-best numbers in ERA (2.56), WHIP (0.97) and strikeouts (211), while recording career highs in innings pitched (179 1/3) and games started (30) as well.
A former 11th-round draft pick, Woodruff finished fifth in the NL Cy Young voting last year — teammate Corbin Burnes was the winner — and was named an All-Star for the second time. The 29-year-old broke out as a first time All-Star in 2019 when he won a career-high 11 games (against just three losses) and had a 3.62 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 143 strikeouts in 121 2/3 innings pitched.
The Brewers are in desperate need of a return from Woodruff, as they've lost a season-high five games in a row and seven out of their last eight overall.
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