Pirates 4, Brewers 1: Offense's dud spoils Brandon Woodruff's nine-strikeout return

Brandon Woodruff played the hits in his return to a major-league mound.

Pitching for the first time for the Milwaukee Brewers since suffering a subscapular strain in his right shoulder on April 7, Woodruff struck out the first five batters he faced Sunday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Pirates and went on to strike out nine.

Woodruff’s outing marked a return to full health for the Brewers rotation, one which now boasts Woodruff, Burnes and Freddy Peralta at the top.

But while Woodruff played the hits, Milwaukee’s offense sure didn’t collect many.

BOX SCORE: Pirates 4, Brewers 1

What could have been an afternoon that shined a spotlight of hope on the final two months of the season with Woodruff’s reemergence was instead another quiet day for the bats against Pirates starter Johan Oviedo in a 4-1 loss at American Family Field.

Brewers offense does nothing

Christian Yelich tagged a ball for a deep flyout against Oviedo to open the bottom of the first. William Contreras then singled. There seemed to be hope for a good day on offense for the Brewers.

Instead, it was another dud.

Oviedo allowed only one more hit over seven innings. He faced only two hitters with a runner in scoring position and allowed only five balls to be hit out of the infield. From the second inning on, the Brewers had as many flyouts to the catcher as they did to outfielders.

Milwaukee, which has scored the third-fewest runs in the National League this season, avoided its ninth shutout of the year thanks to a throwing error by Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes with two outs in the ninth. A run scored on the play and brought the tying run to the plate, but Andruw Monasterio flied out to right to end the game.

Brandon Woodruff strikes out nine in return

When Woodruff toed the rubber Sunday, he did so one day shy of it being four months since his last game.

Woodruff had only made two starts when he suffered the injury, which was initially believed to be minor. Then doctors determined the severity was much greater – a subscapular strain – that would keep Woodruff out until the second half.

Woodruff didn’t waste any time Sunday, striking out the side in the first and then punching out the first two batters in the second.

A pair of wall-scraping solo homers, hit by Endy Rodriguez and Connor Joe, were the only blemishes as Woodruff struck out nine over five innings without a walk.

Brewers schedule coming up

Monday: Rockies at Brewers, 7:10 p.m. Colorado RHP Peter Lambert (2-2, 5.07) vs. Milwaukee RHP Freddy Peralta (7-8, 4.46). TV: Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Pirates beat Brewers, 4-1, to spoil Brandon Woodruff's return