Pirates one-hit in defeat
PITTSBURGH —
Woodruff (1-1) retired 19 of 21 batters, allowing a swinging bunt single to Phil Evans in the first. Pittsburgh didn’t manage another baserunner until Evans walked leading off the seventh. Woodruff’s stuff was so overpowering the Pirates only hit one ball to the outfield during his 6 1/3 innings, a fly to left by Gregory Polanco in the fifth.
Woodruff threw 92 of his 61 pitches for strikes against a lineup that is struggling to produce. The Pirates are hitting a majors-worst .171 during their 2-4 start.
Ben Gamel gave Woodruff all the support he would need with a third-inning two-run homer over the right-field seats off Joe Musgrove (0-2). The ball clipped the top of a wall on the concourse. Otherwise, it likely would have ended up in the Allegheny River. Keston Hiura homered in the sixth for the Brewers.
