Big injury news hit an MLB playoff team just a little more than 24 hours before their postseason series opened.
Brewers starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff will miss the Wild Card Round against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a shoulder injury, manager Craig Counsell told the media on Monday. Woodruff may miss the entire postseason should the Brewers advance.
News: Brandon Woodruff out for the wild card series and possibly the playoffs with a shoulder injury, per Craig Counsell.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) October 2, 2023
Milwaukee begins a best-of-three Wild Card Round series with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday evening in Milwaukee.
The Brewers opened on Sunday evening at FanDuel as strong -194 favorites to emerge from the series and advance to the NLDS. After the Woodruff news broke, books briefly removed the odds to win the series before reopening at Brewers -178. The Diamondbacks remain underdogs but are down to +144.
Woodruff battled injuries throughout the 2023 season but was effective when he took the mound. He finished the regular season with 74 strikeouts, 15 walks and a 2.28 ERA in 11 starts and 67 innings, which was an improvement on his seven-year-career average 3.10 ERA.
Woodruff famously had a huge playoff moment against Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers back in 2018. As huge underdogs in Game 1, Woodruff relieved Gio Gonzalez after two innings and hit a home run against Kershaw to propel Milwaukee to a 6-5 upset win.
He also pitched in Game 5 of that series when starter Wade Miley left with an injury after just five pitches. Woodruff rose to the occasion and nearly matched Kershaw through five innings while striking out eight Dodgers and walking just one.
The Brewers hadn't set their rotation prior to Counsell's announcement, but the expectation is that Woodruff would have started Game 2 of the series against Diamondbacks ace and NL Cy Young contender Zac Gallen.
Corbin Burnes will start Tuesday's series opener, and Woodruff's injury likely pushes Freddy Peralta into the role of Game 2 starter.
If the series reaches a third and final game, the Brewers will surely have all hands on deck, but the starting pitching decision is in flux. Options include Wade Miley, Adrian Houser and Colin Rea.
