Notes: Brandon Woodruff back for fifth stint with Brewers as shuffle of arms continues

PITTSBURGH – The Brewers’ back-end-of-the-pen shuffle continued Friday when Adrian Houser was returned to Class AAA Colorado Springs and Brandon Woodruff was summoned from that club.

Including his opening-day roster assignment, this is Woodruff’s fifth stint with the Brewers this season. Jorge Lopez, who was sent down Thursday, also has been up five times this season, with Houser getting the call four times.

The Brewers have used that trio of pitchers, as well as a few others, to keep fresh arms in the bullpen during times of need. And this stretch of games – 21 in 20 days entering the all-star break with no off days – certainly qualifies as a time of need.

“I see it as Woody, Houser and Jorge as the guys who have largely shared a roster spot this year,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s back and forth but they’re basically the guys that have largely shared that spot.”

As for how that three-man shuttle has worked, Counsell said, “I think largely it has gone pretty well. They’ve all performed pretty well. We’ve gotten in a stretch where their innings have been a little more important. But, a lot of times, just pitching multiple innings, Jorge has done a fabulous job with that.”

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Woodruff, who was 2-0 with a 5.01 ERA in nine outings (four starts) with the Brewers, had not pitched for the Sky Sox since July 2, getting some time off to get past some shoulder soreness.

“It was precautionary,” he said. “I feel great now. It was a perfect time to take it before the all-star break down there. I was lined up to pitch again when I got called back here.”

Woodruff looked perfectly healthy in pitching three shutout innings in the Brewers' 7-3 loss to Pittsburgh, pitching behind struggling starter Junior Guerra. Woodruff also hit his first home run in the majors, showing a great swing in doing so. 

Houser had his first poor outing for the Brewers on Thursday night in a 6-3 loss to Pittsburgh. Coming on in the sixth with the Pirates leading, 2-1, he allowed five hits and four runs in two innings, which proved to be the difference when the Brewers rallied for two runs in the ninth.

But, by having Houser cover two innings and newcomer Alec Asher another inning, the Brewers’ high-leverage relievers – Josh Hader, Jeremy Jeffress, Taylor Williams and Corey Knebel – got some rest before the team played four games in three days, including a doubleheader Saturday.

“We’re in much better shape,” Counsell said.

Surprise meeting: When Counsell was told after the game Thursday that reliever Jeremy Jeffress had been added to the NL all-star team, giving the Brewers five representatives, he wanted to tell both Jeffress and his teammates in surprise fashion. So, he called a post-game meeting in the clubhouse, with indications the topic would be of serious nature.

Call it reading the riot act, if you will.

“There are few surprises; they’re really are so few surprises in the game,” Counsell said. “For all of us, it’s just hard to surprise people. So, I thought we had a pretty good opportunity for a surprise there. It turned out to be a really good surprise.”

“I can use a tone that indicates something different,” Counsell added with a smile. “It played out well. It was fun. It was a true surprise. J.J.’s reaction kind of capped it all off.”

And what exactly was Jeffress’ reaction to getting the news he wanted so badly?

“He had a reaction like he just got the final out of a game, getting out of a bases-loaded jam,” Counsell said. “That was his reaction, and it was great.”

Counsell knew Jeffress was disappointed on Sunday when the initial selections were revealed, with Jeffress omitted.

“I knew he was going to be considerable disappointment, and rightfully so,” Counsell said. “I’m glad it all worked out. He’s been darn near close to perfect.”

Time to run: Lost in the 6-3 defeat Thursday night was the fact that veteran backup catcher Erik Kratz stole his first base in the major leagues, and in his first attempt, no less. Kratz so surprised the Pirates that catcher Elias Diaz didn’t attempt a throw to second base on a curveball that Eric Thames took for a called third strike.

Why had Kratz, 38, never attempted a steal with any of his previous six teams in the majors?

“They never let me,” he said. “I didn’t have a ton of chances. I’ve had seasons in the minor leagues where I had as many as seven (steals). There’s a certain time to the plate, that if the pitcher is taking that long to throw to the plate, you should make it. They don’t pay attention.

“I’ve been wanting to get one for years. They just figured, ‘He must not be able to run.’ I finally got a chance. I don’t think most of the guys knew (it was his first steal). It was even better that there was no throw. I can tell my kids I was too fast."

Kratz said he was trying to get the actual base used in that inning. Clubs change them out every inning (to sell as game-used merchandise), so equipment manager Jason Shawger was trying to track it down so Kratz could have a souvenir.

"You've got (to) check all the boxes," Kratz said. "Now, I need a triple."