Brewers’ Brandon Woodruff goes on injured list after experiencing velocity drop in his last start

By: The Associated Press Posted: 2:35 PM CDT Friday, May. 1, 2026 Last Modified: 3:25 PM CDT Friday, May. 1, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff has gone on the injured list one day after a reduction in his velocity caused him to leave a game in the second inning.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff has gone on the injured list one day after a reduction in his velocity caused him to leave a game in the second inning.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff has gone on the injured list one day after a reduction in his velocity caused him to leave a game in the second inning.

The Brewers announced Friday that the two-time All-Star was going on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation. The Brewers recalled right-hander Easton McGee from Triple-A Nashville.

Woodruff told reporters before the Brewers’ Friday game with the Washington Nationals that an MRI showed no structural damage. Woodruff said he was encouraged after going over the test results with team staff as well as Dr. Keith Meister, who performed shoulder surgery on the veteran right-hander in October 2023.

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff, left, walks off the mound with Brewers head athletic trainer Brad Epstein after throwing a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

“I got great news from the MRI,” Woodruff said. “It’s just proceed here and take the next steps, however long it is, but it shouldn’t be too long.”

None of the 21 pitches Woodruff threw exceeded 86.9 mph in the Brewers’ 13-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday. Woodruff’s average fastball velocity in that game was 85.4 mph, well below his season average of 92.5.

Woodruff had a 1-0 count on Nolan Arenado in the second inning when Brewers coaches and athletic training staff went to check on him. Woodruff left the game at that point.

“Typically I’m a slower starter when it comes to velo,” Woodruff said. “I just didn’t know if it was going to jump up in the second. I wasn’t having pain. So I let our staff know, ‘Look, I’m going to go back out, and if it doesn’t get any better, then obviously there’s no sense in continuing.’”

This represents the latest injury-related setback for the 33-year-old Woodruff, whose fastball averaged about 96 mph as recently as 2023.

Woodruff had a lat strain that prevented him from pitching in the postseason during Milwaukee’s run to the NL Championship Series last year. That injury didn’t prevent him from starting this season on time.

He underwent shoulder surgery after the 2023 season and didn’t pitch at all in 2024, but he returned midway through last season and went 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA in 12 starts.

Woodruff is 2-1 with a 3.60 ERA in six starts this year.

“Obviously my body told me here yesterday that I need to take a little time here to let this inflammation calm down,” Woodruff said.

Woodruff has spent his entire career with Milwaukee, and he accepted a $22,025,000 qualifying offer to stay with the Brewers this season rather than becoming a free agent.

McGee, 28, has pitched one scoreless inning for Milwaukee this season. He has gone 3-1 with a 6.39 ERA in eight games with Nashville.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb