Brandon Woodruff's first Major League pitch in 652 days was a strike. His first out was a strikeout. His first two innings were perfect. His third inning featured a fastball that lit the stadium scoreboard at 96 mph.

After more than 600 days away, Brewers ace Brandon Woodruff triumphantly returned to the mound for Milwaukee on Sunday against the Miami Marlins. It was his first start in the big leagues since Sept. 23, 2023 against the Marlins.

In an an almost flawless season debut where he did not walk a batter and seemed to be completely in the zone, Woodruff allowed only two hits and one run while striking out eight. In his first six innings of 2025, Woodruff looked like the same pitcher that averaged 10.3 strikeouts per nine frames before the injury