One of Milwaukee’s pillars has weakened on the eve of the postseason.
The right Brandon Woodruff will lose the National League wild card series, depriving the Brewers of one of their best starters to face the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“It’s a tough blow when you lose one of your best arms,” he said. Corbin Burns, the Brewers’ starter for the first game. “We don’t know the severity and how many hours (will be lost). But this means it’s another opportunity for another pitcher to take his place and try to match what he does on the mound.
When Milwaukee and Arizona last met, the Diamondbacks led the NL West and the Brewers were barely above .500, at 38-36.
In June. The Brewers went 54-34 the rest of the season and won the NL Central by eight games.
The Diamondbacks went through ups and downs after the series in Milwaukee, finally clinching their first playoff berth since 2017 on the final weekend of the regular season.
Arizona closed the season with a four-game losing streak and barely scored two runs as they were swept in three games by the Houston Astros. The Diamondbacks need to fire up their offense against an opponent that has time to adjust its starters and program its rotation in the order they want.
Burnes, the 2021 NL Cy Young winner, has been dominant since allowing seven runs in five innings in a loss to the Diamondbacks on June 19. The right-hander won four straight starts in July and closed the season with allowed four earned runs in his last 22 2/3 innings.
After Burnes, Milwaukee has Dominican Freddy Peralta for the second game, instead of Woodruff. Peralta went 12-10 with a 3.86 ERA with 210 strikeouts in 165 2/3 innings.
The Brewers also have one of the best bullpens in the majors, leading the majors with a 3.71 ERA. **Devin Williams **is the benchmark after a campaign with a 1.53 ERA and converting 36 of 40 save opportunities.
“Do we know them? Yes,” said Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo. “But they are a different team. “They’re in the playoffs and anything is possible.”
“They have the ability to reach the top,” Brewers right-hander Adrian Houser said.
Since the Diamondbacks failed to secure their spot in the playoffs, they had no choice but to take refuge Zac Gallen y Merrill Kelly in the last part, so they were not used in the first game.
That assignment was left Brandon Pfaadt. The rookie right-hander started the season between the majors and the Triple A branch in Reno, but pitched better in the end.
Pfaadt has not allowed a run in two of his last three starts.
Gallen, Arizona’s ace, will likely start game two, with Kelly handling game three. The two have combined for a 3-1 record with a 1.67 ERA in four starts against Milwaukee this season.
