'Everything feels good, I'm healthy': Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff confident after rehab start with Timber Rattlers
GRAND CHUTE – It was Wizardry Night at the ballpark Thursday evening for Wisconsin Timber Rattlers fans, but the real magic came on the mound as Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff made a rehab start with the club against the Kansas City Royals' High-A affiliate, the Quad Cities River Bandits.
Woodruff, a two-time National League all-star with the Brewers, said after the game “everything feels good, I’m healthy.”
He went on the injured list May 30 with a high ankle sprain, and then was diagnosed with Raynaud's syndrome.
“I had a little bit of an unfortunate thing that popped up with the Raynaud’s, and the ankle’s been good, so it’s really just been about when can I come back and throw, and just build up?" said Woodruff.
“I wanted to come into this and try to prepare for the next start. I think if you go out there and you’re just going to throw strikes, these guys will knock you around the yard. They were aggressive, so it was fun. I still had to make some pitches, but I got to do everything I wanted to do.”
Woodruff threw 74 pitches – 48 for strikes – over five innings, retiring the first 12 batters he faced before giving up a lead-off home run to Kale Emshoff, his 10th of the season, on the first pitch of the fifth inning. He also gave up a walk and a single later that frame, but struck out his final batter. He finished with seven strikeouts.
Besides the one minor miscue that led to giving up the lone run of the evening for the River Bandits, Woodruff said there were only a couple mechanical things that required an adjustment before exiting the game.
“If I had to point anything out, I would say maybe the tempo in my delivery a little bit. I’m pretty in-tune with how I feel when I’m on the mound, so if the tempo in my delivery is too slow or if I’m pushing too quick, I can feel that,” he said. “I was able to feel it early on and make an adjustment. I can also do a better job of tightening up my breaking balls a little bit, but both fastballs and my changeup were so good tonight that I really didn’t have to go to those other pitches. I was able to use everything, which was great, and coming out of here with five innings – it’s been three weeks since I’ve gotten in game action so just getting my legs back under me has been a main thing. I feel good coming out of it, so all positive.”
Woodruff was asked how he’s been dealing with the recently-diagnosed Raynaud’s syndrome – a condition where the blood vessels in extremities narrow, restricting blood flow, causing a cold and numb sensation.
“It’s been tough having to sit there and watch our guys play. I’m sitting in the dugout and the only thing holding me back is this Raynaud’s, so it’s kind of unfortunate that it popped up, but I’m glad it popped up when it did and not later in the year. It’s gotten better day-by-day. It may be something I have to deal with and control throughout the season, but you can’t really do anything about it but deal with it and be a good teammate.”
All signs look clear for Woodruff returning to the Brewers over the weekend, or at the latest Monday, making him available to start again as early as Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
“Yes, I’m very confident. I came out of this feeling pretty good. If I had it my way, I’d have liked to have pushed it a little bit after the first rehab start, but I needed to get my legs under me," he said. "The pitch count matters. Now I can get into that 90-100 pitch count range – I think I threw 75 tonight – so once I do that a couple times, I’ll be good to go.”
The Timber Rattlers sent a nearly sold-out crowd of 5,733 fans home happy with a 3-1 victory. Fellow Brewers infielder Mike Brosseau, also rehabbing with the T-Rats, started off the bottom of the fourth inning with his first hit in three appearances for the club – one of two on the night for him. Tristan Peters followed Brosseau’s single with one of his own, putting runners on the corners with no outs. A sacrifice fly from Joe Gray Jr. brought in Brosseau, and then a two-run home run from Darrien Miller – his fourth of the season – provided the clinching blow to secure the win.
The third member of the Brewers to make a rehab appearance – his second of the series – was reliever Trevor Gott, who pitched a three-up, three-down top of the sixth inning with a strikeout. Christian Tripp threw a perfect seventh inning, working into the eighth before turning the ball over to James Meeker who shut the door by recording the final six outs – good for his fourth save.
“The people here are great. They’re awesome, so I had a bit of fun tonight,” said Woodruff.
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This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff plays with Timber Rattlers
