Brandon Woodruff's Brewers career off to promising start

Brandon Woodruff is off to one of the best starts in Milwaukee Brewers history.

The 24-year-old rookie has started four games since making his MLB debut on Aug. 4, when he pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings in a 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Two more starts followed, before the Brewers sent Woodruff back to Triple-A Colorado Springs to make room for returning starter Chase Anderson.

Woodruff returned to the rotation earlier this month, holding the Washington Nationals to just two hits and one earned run in seven innings.

Taken together, Woodruff's brief Brewers resume is among the best four-game starts in franchise history.

Woodruff is second only to Tom Candiotti with a 1.52 ERA through four games.

He faces a Pittsburgh Pirates offense that has struggled to score on the road lately.

The Pirates are averaging just 3.4 runs per game in 25 games since the All-Star break, the worst rate in the majors.

OTHER NOTES:

-- Travis Shaw hit a two-run homer Sunday in the Brewers' win over the Chicago Cubs. It was the first time since June that he has had multiple RBI in back-to-back games.

-- Milwaukee's three-game sweep of the Cubs was their first in Chicago since 2002.

-- The Brewers are out-homering their opponents a combined 106-83 at Miller Park this season, the second-largest disparity in the league at home.

-- Despite losing Jimmy Nelson for the season the Brewers have been among the league's healthier teams this season. They've sent just 12 players to the disabled list, tied with the Pirates for second-fewest in the league.

-- Brewers players have missed a combined 323 games this season, third-fewest in the league.