'Honestly I Had No Expectations': Milwaukee Brewers’ Brandon Woodruff Reflects on Sparkling 1st Start in Nearly 2 Years

The Brewers went on to a 3-1 victory, improving to 50-40 and giving Woodruff his first win since he recorded the W versus, of course, those same Marlins two seasons ago. Brewers fans could not have hoped for a better return.

For Woodruff, it was a bit strange facing an order full of unfamiliar faces. “Honestly, I had no expectations. I had none at all. I usually do all my video work and preparation in between. It’s like, I’ve only ever faced two of these guys in this lineup. So that was kind of difficult for me, just knowing how I wanted to attack.”

A lack of name recognition can happen when you miss almost two years’ time. But pitching in the dark, so to speak, worked out quite well for Woodruff, as he faced just two batters over the minimum.

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Despite not knowing what to expect, the 32-year-old righty felt went into the start well-prepared from a physical standpoint, having overcome multiple setbacks this season alone. On the mound Sunday, he felt comfortable.

“I felt good. Physically, the body is in a good spot. With everything that’s happened throughout the rehab process, there’s been a silver lining, in a sense. With the ankle, and then getting hit in the elbow, it’s allowed me to get everything close to where I want it to be.”

Before all the injuries, Woodruff was nothing less than dominant, striking out 709 in 595 innings from 2019 to 2023. He peaked at 211 K’s in 2021, when he posted a 2.56 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. In his injury-shortened ’23 campaign, he still managed a 2.28 ERA and 0.82 WHIP across 11 starts. His career marks in those categories are 3.08 and 1.04, respectively. Not too shabby.

If only he can stay healthy for the rest of the season, the Brewers could be getting a major boost to an already strong rotation.

“I just have to keep getting used to this kind of load,” Woodruff said. “I threw 70 pitches. By no means was I worn out, but I could kind of sense it a little bit in myself. When you haven’t done it in almost two years, you forget how much mentally, and physically, how much a major league baseball game can take out of you. But I was prepared for it. I was ready to go today.”

With the All-Star break approaching, Woodruff may or may not make another start before then. The Brewers begin a series against the Dodgers on Monday with a marquee matchup of aces, Freddy Peralta versus Yoshinobu Yamamoto.