Brandon Woodruff's Return Is Just Beginning For Dangerous Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers had a big day on Sunday.

After more than 600 days away, Brewers ace Brandon Woodruff triumphantly returned to the mound for Milwaukee on Sunday against the Miami Marlins. It was his first start in the big leagues since Sept. 23, 2023 against the Marlins.

He didn't show any signs of rust and was surgical on the mound against the Marlins. Woodruff went six innings and allowed just one earned run while striking out eight batters. Woodruff threw just 70 pitches in his first big league start of the season.

It was an emotional day and Woodruff opened up afterward, as transcribed by MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.

"Honestly, I had no expectations. I had none at all," Woodruff said. "There were different waves of it. I'd be sitting here, and it's like, 'Man, I'm about to throw my first game in two years.' And just quietly think to myself, like, 'This is such a cool deal...'

"It was just getting back out there, but then that ‘compete’ mode took over and I really wanted to win the game,” Woodruff said. “That's really all you care about, giving the team a chance to win, and thankfully I was able to do it. Going forward, I'll take one outing at a time and see where we're at at the end of the year, like always. Hopefully, I can just hop back on this train and keep the momentum going."

What a return for Big Woo.

The Brewers have already been good this year. Milwaukee now is 50-40 on the season. But, with Woodruff now back in the fold, there's no reason why this team can't be playoff bound in 2025 and be dangerous in the process.