Adrian Del Castillo smashed a three-run home run in the first inning to lift the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday night at Chase Field.
Despite being outhit 12-4, the Diamondbacks improved to 45-45, snapping Milwaukee's six-game road winning streak. The Brewers fell to 54-32 after leaving nine runners in scoring position.
Woodruff Exits with Apparent Injury
Brewers starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff exited the game in the fourth inning after his velocity dropped sharply, with his fastball bottoming out at 85.8 mph.
It was his third start since returning from right shoulder inflammation.
Before the game, Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy praised Woodruff's resilience. "Woody's just a great story in it himself, just the way he conducts himself as a starter.
He's been magnificent," Murphy said.
After the defeat, Murphy indicated the right-hander would likely need another stint on the injured list. Woodruff noted the discomfort felt identical to his earlier shoulder issues.
"First inning was fine, then it was kind of a slow progression of discomfort," Woodruff said. He added, "It's kind of the life of my shoulder.
You hope that it will hold on until the end of the year and then you reassess and make some adjustments."
Woodruff expressed frustration with the recurring nature of his shoulder problems. "It gets a little frustrating dealing with this.
It kind of comes in waves," he said.
Key Plays and Pitching
In Friday's game, Arizona reliever Ryan Thompson committed a costly throwing error in the 11th inning that allowed Milwaukee to take control.
"We actually worked on those exact things, throwing to the catcher; we practiced it today. And I butchered it," Thompson said.
Diamondbacks left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Garrett Mitchell of a home run.
Murphy said, "Gurriel catching that home run was an unbelievable play. I almost clapped.
Of course, I'm kidding, but we would have been up six there."
Arizona pitcher Merrill Kelly earned the win, throwing five innings and allowing two runs.
Paul Sewald recorded his 20th save despite giving up a ninth-inning home run to Jackson Chourio.
The three-game series concludes Sunday afternoon at Chase Field as Milwaukee right-hander Brandon Sproat faces Arizona left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez.
