The Chicago Cubs couldn’t touch former Mississippi State standout Brandon Woodruff Wednesday. Woodruff took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and finished the afternoon with seven scoreless innings where he struck out eight batters. The Brewers couldn’t provide Woodruff with enough run support to earn the dominant right-hander a victory, but Milwaukee eventually pulled out the win in extra innings. In two starts, Woodruff has 13 strikeouts in 11 innings and has allowed three runs. He carries a WHIP of 0.82 and a batting average against of .179. His next scheduled start is Tuesday against the Cubs.
Nate Lowe continued his hot start to his season with a two-homer game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, giving him 14 RBIs in the first five games. Unfortunately for the lefty, he’s since cooled, mired in an 0-for-13 slump to bring down his average to .235 on the year. Lowe is still slugging .529, however.
After starting the season 0-6, the Oakland Athletics picked up a much-needed win Wednesday courtesy of a walk-off single by Mitch Moreland. After being hitless on the day and with his team tied with the Dodgers at 3-3 in the 10th inning, Moreland feasted on a hanging breaking ball on a 1-2 count with runners on first and third. The ball landed into short centerfield and allowed the run to score easily, giving Oakland its first victory of the year off the defending World Series champions. The 35-year old hasn’t gotten off to a fast start, starting the year 4-for-24 with three RBIs and two walks.
Kendall Graveman has yet to be scored on as a reliever in Seattle, but he had some tightrope work to do against the Chicago White Sox Wednesday. After walking two batters and allowing a hit, the Pale Hose had the bases loaded with nobody out and Graveman nursing a 8-4 lead. Nevertheless, thanks to an inning-ending double play, Graveman escaped the frame unscathed as he let out a celebratory cry. Graveman pitched a perfect inning Saturday against the Minnesota Twins, and has struck out five batters in four innings of work with his opponents batting .083 against him.
Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Adam Frazier collected a pair of multi-hit performances against the Cubs over the weekend, going 2-for-4 in the series opener Friday and 2-for-4 with a double in his team’s victory Saturday. He drove in a run in each contest. On the year, Frazier is batting .233 but has walked six times, giving him an on-base percentage of .378. This week was a mixed bag for Frazier’s teammate, reliever Chris Stratton. Stratton was touched up for three runs against the Reds in two innings of work Wednesday, but retired two hitters in Sunday’s 7-1 victory over the Cubs. Stratton has allowed four runs in 4.2 innings of work.
Chicago Cubs reliever Jonathan Holder continues to wait on his season debut after landing on the 10-day injured list, while Minnesota outfielder Brent Rooker went on the injured list with a neck strain.
Hodge is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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