SEATTLE — At first, Brandon Woodruff was caught a bit off guard.
The Milwaukee Brewers’ starting pitcher was fresh off a dazzling performance, one in which he tossed six innings of two-hit ball en route to a 6-0 win against the Seattle Mariners. But upon learning that the victory gave the Brewers 11 wins in a row and also the best record in the National League, Woodruff was taken aback — but only briefly.
“Doesn’t surprise me,” Woodruff said. “We got a lot of great guys in this clubhouse, and it’s a fun team. So, I feel like we say that every year, but this year’s a little bit different in a way.”
To Woodruff’s point, the Brewers have won 60 of their first 100 games with a very different roster than the one that won the NL Central last year.
Shortstop Willy Adames (San Francisco Giants) and right-hander Corbin Burnes (Arizona Diamondbacks) both signed massive contracts elsewhere this offseason. Long-time closer Devin Williams, meanwhile, was traded to the New York Yankees in December. Their departures, though, have hardly hindered the Brewers.
Even though Woodruff missed most of the first half as a result of being brought along slowly following surgery on his pitching shoulder, the Brewers’ rotation has been stout in his absence. Milwaukee starters have combined for the sixth-lowest ERA in the majors, thanks in part to shrewd pickups like right-hander Quinn Priester, who Milwaukee acquired in April.
“I think that’s a lot of credit to our front office and our coaching staff, and just putting the right guys in the room,” Woodruff said. “When you can get guys that play for each other and play with each other and just have fun. That’s the biggest thing. There’s a reason why we’ve done this over the last eight, nine years.”
Since 2018, the Brewers have won the NL Central four times and are on track to make it three straight seasons, doing so mostly without “household names,” as Woodruff said. This season, it’s been a collective, well-balanced effort propelling the Brewers to frequent victories, including six against the Los Angeles Dodgers during their active win streak.
Second baseman Brice Turang is leading the club’s position players with three Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball Reference. Twenty-one-year old outfielder Jackson Chourio remains a force to be reckoned with after a standout rookie season. And right-hander Freddy Peralta leads all major league pitchers with 12 wins.
All of it has led to quite the positive clubhouse culture from the perspective of folks like shortstop Joey Ortiz.
“Winning’s great, winning’s fun, It’s a blessing to come to a big league field and play the game,” Ortiz said. “So, I feel like winning is just an extra on top of that. Everyone’s so close in the locker room that I don’t even think — of course we want to win, but I don’t think winning matters. I think we have a great time just being together, and I think it shows on the field.”
It’s a tight-knit group led by reigning National League manager of the year Pat Murphy. The baseball lifer is aware his team continues to gain confidence with each passing win, but that there is still much time remaining in the regular season.
The trade deadline hasn’t even come and gone, so the small-market Brewers still have plenty of time to work with — after all, as Murphy put it, it’s only July 21.
“There’s more to be done. There’s more opportunity,” Murphy said. “There’s no reason to coast. There’s every reason to know you’re in a fight. You drop your guard, ‘Whack!’ and sometimes you don’t recover from that.”