Brewers' Woodruff leaves start early after showing reduced velocity

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff left his Thursday afternoon start against the Arizona Diamondbacks midway through an at bat in the second inning after showing reduced velocity throughout his brief stint.

The two-time All-Star right-hander threw 21 pitches, and none of them exceeded 86.9 mph. The average velocity of his fastball was 85.4 mph, well below his season average of 92.5.

After allowing a one-out single to Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Woodruff had a 1-0 count on Nolan Arenado when Brewers coaches and training staff went to the mound to check on him. Woodruff then departed the game and Grant Anderson came out of the bullpen and struck out Arenado and Alek Thomas to end the inning.

"He wasn’t himself," manager Pat Murphy told dugout reporter Sophia Minnaert on the Brewers TV telecast. "He felt kind of dead. He said he didn't feel any pain, just that nothing was coming out. We've seen a little bit of this, but never at this level where he can't get the ball over 85 miles an hour.

"He's so important, we're not going to risk anything maybe long-term by having him try to step on it."

Woodruff, 33, missed the postseason with a lat strain and had spent much of spring training working his way back, though he managed to avoid opening the season on the injured list. Woodruff underwent shoulder surgery after the 2023 season and didn't pitch at all in 2024, but he returned midway through last season and went 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA in 12 starts.

He owns a 2-1 record and 3.60 ERA in six starts this year. He didn't allow any runs Thursday despite his lack of velocity.

Woodruff has spent his entire career with Milwaukee, as he accepted a $22-million qualifying offer to stay with the Brewers this season rather than pursuing free agency. He owns a 55-29 record.

His 3.13 career ERA heading into Thursday's game was the best in Brewers history for anyone with at least 500 innings.

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