Brandon Woodruff’s third rehab start was his best one yet.
The Brewers right-hander breezed through five scoreless innings for Triple-A Nashville in a 2-0 win over the Durham Bulls, the Rays’ Triple-A club, on Thursday night. He allowed two hits, struck out five and faced only two batters over the minimum in the first game of a doubleheader.
It was a significant improvement from Woodruff’s first two rehab starts in which he gave up five earned runs on 10 hits and five walks through 7 2/3 combined frames.
Woodruff, who underwent right shoulder surgery in October 2023 and missed the entirety of the '24 season, recently acknowledged that pitch command can take a while to return after undergoing the type of procedure he had all those months ago. But he looked to be in complete command against the Bulls.
After needing 68 pitches to get through four innings in his last start, Woodruff cleared five frames in 61 pitches, 41 of which were strikes. He didn’t have any three-ball counts, much less a walk. He induced 10 whiffs on 32 swings. His fastball velocities were still down a tick or two from their 2023 levels, but Woodruff did pop 94 mph on the radar gun a few times with his sinker and four-seamer. His slider also showed more life, averaging 89 mph on the 10 he threw.
Assuming he rebounds well from this outing, Woodruff will make another rehab start at an undetermined date. He could potentially return to the Brewers’ rotation before the end of May.