
Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff made his return to the mound on Monday. Afterward, he discussed his tactics.
The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday, 6-2, and for the first time since September 17, Brandon Woodruff took the mound in a regular season contest.
Woodruff was mostly effective in his return to the hill after a lat strain cut short his already truncated 2025 season due to recovery from shoulder surgery.
In five innings, Woodruff struck out six batters while allowing four hits and two earned runs, both of which were the result of home runs. After the game, Woodruff talked with the media about his outing.
“Yeah, going in against those guys, I just watched them the previous night, they were pretty aggressive early,” Woodruff said.
“So, I just tried to get back to my game and establish the fastball early and move it around a little bit," Woodruff said. "And I figured I was gonna have to go to the break and stuff a little bit more than usual, but I kinda held off on it a little bit.”
Woodruff, who is heavily reliant on a four-seam fastball in his pitch arsenal, wanted to make sure it was not the only thing he was throwing in an effort to keep the Rays from taking him deep off a slower fastball.
“I tend to stay with it unless I'm throwing 89 and 90 right down the middle, then those usually get hit in the stands,” he added. “So, yeah, it was a good night overall for sure.”
According to Woodruff’s Baseball Savant Profile, he utilizes a four-seam fastball 31% of the time, which is tied with a sinker for his go-to pitch. Woodruff’s velocity may not be the same as it was before his recent injuries, but his fastball is still something he can rely on.
“I mean, look, I lean heavily on that pitch,” Woodruff said. “It's always been my bread and butter my whole career. And since coming back from surgery, I've still got some of that life to it.
"I'm just at a lesser velocity,” he added. “Which is OK. I mean, I just need to put it in good spots most of the time. And yeah, I don't know if I've done that even in previous years.”
For Woodruff, the goal was to save higher velocity pitches for the regular season instead of leaning on them in spring training. He also discussed how it felt to be back on the field with his team.
“If I was gonna use bullets, I didn't wanna use them in the minor leagues,” Woodruff said. “I was recovering. I'd kinda mentioned that before. And I wanted to be here with the guys.
“It's a good feeling,” Woodruff added. “Breaking camp and getting here and just being with everybody and it was just a good feeling for me.”
Join the Community
Don't miss out on our ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news!
It's completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!


