One of Milwaukee’s biggest strengths just got a little weaker on the eve of the postseason.
Right-hander Brandon Woodruff, slated as a potential Game 3 starter, will miss the N.L. Wild Card Series with a shoulder injury, leaving the Brewers without one of their top arms against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“It’s tough to have one of your better arms go down,” Brewers Game 1 starter Corbin Burnes said Monday. “Obviously we don’t know the extent of what’s going on and how long it’s going to be. But it means that it’s another opportunity for another guy to step up and fill his shoes and try to replicate what he would do out there on the mound.”
When Milwaukee and Arizona last met, the Diamondbacks were atop the N.L. West and the Brewers were scuffling, barely above .500 at 38-36.
That was June. The Brewers found the right gear, going 54-34 the rest of the way to win the N.L. Central by eight games.
The Diamondbacks went through a few difficult stretches after the series in Milwaukee, finally clinching their first playoff appearance since 2017 on the final weekend of the regular season.
Arizona closed the season with four straight losses and scored two runs in a three-game sweep by the Houston Astros. Now the Diamondbacks need to try finding a way to reignite their offense against a team that had time to rest players and line up its rotation.
Burnes, the 2021 N.L. Cy Young Award winner, gets the ball for Game 1. Milwaukee’s ace has been sharp 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 by allowing four earned runs during his last 22⅔ innings.
After Burnes, Milwaukee likely will start Freddy Peralta for Game 2 instead of Woodruff. Peralta went 12-10 with a 3.86 ERA with 210 strikeouts in 165⅔ innings.
The Brewers also have one of the best bullpens in baseball, a combination that allowed them to lead the major leagues with a 3.71 ERA. All-Star Devin Williams anchors the pen after finishing with a 1.53 ERA while converting 36-of-40 save opportunities.
“We’re familiar with them? Yes,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “But they’re a different team. They’re in the playoffs and anything’s possible.”
“I think we’re built to go all the way,” Brewers right-hander Adrian Houser said.
Because the Diamondbacks had yet to clinch a playoff spot, they were forced to use Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly down the stretch, leaving neither available for Game 1.
That start will go to Brandon Pfaadt, The rookie right-hander bounced between the big leagues and Triple-A Reno early in the season, but pitched better late in the season.
Pfaadt had scoreless outings in two of his final three regular-season starts.
Gallen, Arizona’s ace, will likely pitch Game 2 with Kelly getting the ball in a potential Game 3. Those two went a combined 3-1 with a 1.67 ERA in four starts against Milwaukee this season.
Arizona’s offense is loaded with speedy players who put pressure on opposing teams.
A big key for the Brewers to preventing the Diamondbacks from getting their offense going will be to slow them down on the bases.
Led by All-Star Corbin Carroll’s 54 stolen bases, Arizona finished second in the majors with 166 steals, converting on 86 percent of its attempts.
Milwaukee catchers William Contreras and Victor Caratini combined to allow 121 stolen bases at 84 percent success rate. The Diamondbacks went 8-for-8 in stolen bases against the Brewers this season.
Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich had back issues that took him out of the lineup for a few games late in the year, but still had one of his best seasons since winning the 2018 N.L. MVP and finishing runner-up the next year.
Yelich hit .278 with 19 homers, 76 RBI and 28 stolen bases. Get hot against the Diamondbacks, he could spark the Brewers, who were a better offensive team the second half of the season after struggling early.
The Brewers and Diamondbacks were among baseball’s best defensive teams during the regular season.
Arizona led the majors with a .990 fielding percentage and had a big league-low 56 errors. Milwaukee’s fielding percentage was .987 and the Brewers committed 77 errors.