 allowed one earned run and six hits with six strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings, helping the Brewers improve to 4-5 on their current 10-game homestand.The right-hander remains among the National League leaders in wins and strikeouts.While Woodruff hardly broke a sweat, counterpart Jordan Lyles (5-4) threw two wild pitches, hit a batter, gave up a home run and allowed three earned runs in six innings in his first start since being placed on the 10-day injured list with hamstring tightness. Lyles is 0-2 in three starts this season against Milwaukee.The Pirates scored in the first when Colin Moran doubled to right to score Kevin Newman. Newman reached on a single, extending his hitting streak to 19 games, the longest by a Pittsburgh rookie since 1900.After drawing a walk, Christian Yelich knotted the game at 1 in the bottom half, scoring from third on a failed pickoff attempt at first base. Lyles was looking to catch Ryan Braun napping, but the right-hander made an errant throw.Thames tripled down the right-field line, scoring Braun and putting the Brewers ahead 2-1.That was all the cushion Woodruff would need.Thames added another run in the fourth on a solo blast to right, his 11th. Thames now has hit safely in 10 of his last 12 starts.Josh Hader picked up his 20th save.ONE MORE TO 1KAfter failing to register a hit on Saturday, Yelich remains one shy of 1,000 for his major league career.TRAINER'S ROOMBrewers: LHP Gio Gonzalez (left arm) played catch on Friday and Saturday. Brewers manager Craig Counsell says he wants to see Gonzalez ''get off the mound a couple times before the All-Star break.'' Gonzalez is expected to be out until at least July 20. He hasn't pitched since May 27.UP NEXTBrewers right-hander Zach Davies (7-2, 3.34 ERA) faces left-hander Steven Brault (3-1, 4.50 ERA) in the finale of three-game series Sunday afternoon. Davies has an 8.10 ERA over his last four starts. Brault has allowed a total of seven runs in his last five starts.---Keith Jenkins can be reached at https://twitter.com/MrKeithJenkins .---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports .)
Brewers turn to Woodruff to right shipFLMMilwaukee Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff will try to join the list of 10-game winners when he faces the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates in the middle game of their three-game series on Saturday night.Woodruff (9-2, 4.01 ERA) has performed beyond expectations this season, both on the mound and at the plate. The Brewers have won 13 of the 16 games that Woodruff has appeared.He bounced back and forth between starter and reliever the past two seasons, combining for a 5-3 record in that span. Woodruff has gone 6-1 in the past two months alone, and is hitting .324 at the plate in 37 at-bats overall.The Brewers can certainly use a win.They took a 2-1 lead into the eighth inning in the series opener on Friday night, but gave up a run in the eighth and another in the ninth in the 3-2 loss, their eighth in the past 11 games.The Pirates, meanwhile, have won seven of their past eight.Woodruff has seen a consistent uptick in his fastball this season, but isn't sure if that's the reason for his success."I feel good physically, and I think that has a lot to do with it," Woodruff recently told reporters. "I don't know if it's just being on a good routine and just having that consistency about a throwing program and stuff. Maybe that's what I'd attribute to (the increase in velocity), because I definitely haven't thrown this hard throughout my career as far as keeping it up." Woodruff will be matched against fellow right-hander Jordan Lyles, who will face the Brewers for a third straight time after he exits the injured list to take the mound.Lyles (5-3, 3.64) went six innings against the Brewers in Pittsburgh on June 2 and allowed four runs and eight hits, taking the defeat in the 4-2 loss.He went up against the Brewers again on June 8 in Milwaukee and departed after allowing three runs and five hits over three innings in the 5-3 loss. He went on the injured list two days later with left hamstring tightness, which he had dealt with in his three previous starts."We want to get him back to pitching mode where he was before he tweaked the hamstring," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said.Lyles was 5-1 with 2.81 ERA through his first nine starts.Woodruff faced the Pirates in back-to-back starts earlier this month and delivered his worst outing of the season in the first game, though he was much sharper in the second appearance.Woodruff surrendered season highs of six runs and 10 hits over four innings in Pittsburgh on June 1, but was saved from the loss when the Brewers scored 12 runs in the two-run victory. He faced the Pirates six days later in Milwaukee and allowed three runs and four hits in six innings, earning the win in the 10-4 victory."Woody's in a really good place," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "There's so much to work with there, and so much room for him to get better still, and we have to help him kind of take that next step." --Field Level Media
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