53 Brandon Woodruff RP

Woodruff (1-1) gave up two runs on five hits with one walk over 5.1 innings in a loss to the Dodgers in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series. He struck out eight.

After Wade Miley walked the first batter of the game, Woodruff limited the Dodgers to only two runs in 5.1 innings. Unfortunately for Woodruff, Clayton Kershaw was spectacular, and the two runs would be enough to hang the loss on the 25-year-old. The right-hander now has 15 strikeouts with a 2.45 ERA through 10.1 innings in the postseason.

Woodruff will be the Brewers' initial out getter in Game 1 of their NLDS matchup with the Rockies on Thursday.

In layman's terms, Woodruff will start for the Brewers on Thursday, but Woodruff has operated solely as a reliever since September, so it's unlikely he will go too deep into Thursday's contest. Woodruff has been brilliant in small doses out of the bullpen since Sept. 2, allowing only one earned run over 12.1 innings (0.73 ERA) while giving up just 10 hits and posting a 16:3 K:BB.

Woodruff allowed three hits and one walk over three scoreless innings to earn the save Monday against the Reds. He struck out two.

Woodruff entered with an eight-run lead and proceeded to cruise through the next three frames to earn the first save of his career. The right-hander has pitched in a versatile bullpen role this season and currently holds a 3.99 ERA, so his fantasy value is quite limited despite this effort.

Woodruff was recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Saturday.

Woodruff will fill a long-relief role down the stretch, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Woodruff has a 4.80 ERA in 30 innings for the Brewers this season, a near match for the 4.81 ERA he posted in his 43-inning debut last year.

Woodruff was optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs on Tuesday.

Woodruff has a 4.80 ERA in 30 innings for the Brewers this season. He could be up again in a swingman role throughout the season. He'll make way for Junior Guerra (forearm), who was activated from the disabled list to start Tuesday against the Nationals.