Milwaukee Brewers at Cincinnati Reds

CINCINNATI – Brewers pitching coach Chris Hook has known Brandon Woodruff for a decade, having spent time together at Double-A Biloxi in 2016 when Hook was the Shuckers' pitching coach and Woodruff was a 23-year-old with an arsenal built around a power fastball. So if anyone had a feel for how Woodruff might fare Monday night in his return from another extended stint on the injured list, it was Hook. And he was feeling good. “The guy knows how to pitch,” Hook said. “He’s going to figure it out, no matter what the stuff is. If the stuff’s good, I think we’re going to be just fine.” The stuff, it turned out, was good. Very good. Back in the Brewers’ rotation after nearly two months on the injured list, the 33-year-old Woodruff retired the first 16 Reds he faced on the way to navigating six scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts, including career strikeout No. 900, in Milwaukee’s 2-1 win in 10 innings at Great American Ball Park. Here’s a measure of how effective Woodruff was on Monday night, and has been on the way to becoming the Brewers’ longest-tenured player: Since 1900, only two pitchers have logged three career starts with one or no hits allowed, no walks and 10-plus strikeouts. Corbin Burnes was the first, including two starts for the Brewers and one for the Orioles. Now Woodruff has become the second. “Nobody’s shocked,” said manager Pat Murphy. “That’s the truth. That’s ‘Woo.’ He takes craft seriously, and I’m really proud of him and what he did for the club because of the leadership he shows doing that. It’s pretty special.”