Woodruff goes five-plus innings in second rehab start

MILWAUKEE – Brandon Woodruff took a step toward rejoining the Brewers' rotation by throwing five-plus innings for High-A Wisconsin in Davenport, Iowa, on Tuesday.

Woodruff was scheduled for five innings and 80-85 pitches against Quad Cities, a Royals affiliate, and reached both targets, throwing 82 pitches over 5 1/3 innings. He was charged with three runs on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts, with two of the runs, two of the hits and the lone walk coming in Woodruff’s fifth inning of work, when the runs scored on a groundout and a sacrifice fly.

The only other run scored on a second-inning home run for Ramon Ramirez (Royals No. 7 prospect, per MLB Pipeline). Besides that, it was a good night’s work for Woodruff, who threw 55 of his 82 pitches for strikes.e

The Brewers still project a late June return to the Majors. Woodruff will likely rejoin the team on Wednesday to plot next steps.

It was Woodruff’s second formal rehab start since exiting an April 30 start against the D-backs after pitching with significantly diminished velocity and complaining of “dead arm.” A subsequent trip to see the surgeon who performed Woodruff’s October 2023 shoulder repair resulted in a minor procedure to drain a cyst in that joint, which Woodruff and the Brewers characterized as common for a 33-year-old pitcher.