The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 9-3 on Saturday, taking a 1-0 lead in the NLDS. Milwaukee pounced early, taking a 6-1 lead after the first inning, and never looked back. The Brewers got a great start out of Freddy Peralta, lasting 5.2 innings with just four hits allowed. Injured starter Brandon Woodruff gave Peralta his flowers after the great start.
I was thinking about it today — he’s going to drive the bus for us. “We need to win every game he starts, we really do. Then we can piece stuff together. But if he can drive the bus for us, it’s going to take us a long ways,” Woodruff said, per MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
Woodruff continued, “I feel like the last two years, he assumed that role of being ‘the guy.’ And it’s like, he’s caught — not a lot of flak, but people harp on him for not pitching deep in the games. I think this year we’ve seen the way he’s mixed his stuff. He’s grown as a pitcher. Watching from afar and watching him today, even with the leadoff homer, I’m watching him take his time, take a breath. Honestly, pitching in the playoffs, that [experience] helps. We got exactly what we needed out of him.”
The Brewers have a deep pitching staff, but got a great start from their ace to kick off the postseason. Without Woodruff, the pressure is on younger pitchers to keep the momentum going in the series. It will be 27-year-old Aaron Ashby getting just his second start in his 44th major-league appearance on Monday to begin a bullpen game.
The Brewers have not advanced in the postseason since 2018 despite making five appearances since then. They are two wins away from making the NLCS while on their quest for the first World Series in franchise history.
