Woodruff flirts with no-no for Sky Sox

Brandon Woodruff wasn't shy about expressing his disappointment at coming so close to a no-hitter, and while he briefly let it get to him, he quickly refocused and got back to the task at hand.
The Brewers' No.8 prospect came within four outs of a no-hitter and ended up allowing one hit over six innings Sunday as Triple-A Colorado Springs blanked Nashville, 8-0, in the first game of a doubleheader at First Tennessee Park. 
A's top prospect Franklin Barreto ended Woodruff's bid with a single to left field with two outs in the sixth.

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"I was aware what was going on," the right-hander said. "You get the sense when you're throwing the ball well and racking up the outs. I looked up at scoreboard and saw no hits, but in between innings I just tried to stay focused and do what I needed to do when I got back out there.
"To be honest, I was a little upset at giving up the hit because it was a bad pitch. I tried to regain focus right away, but I let a few get away from me. After I ran the count to 3-0, I told myself to get back to what I was doing earlier in the game, which was locating."

Woodruff (6-3) walked two and struck out five to snap a personal three-game losing streak. It was his fourth scoreless outing of the season and marked the fifth time in 10 starts that he completed six innings. 
"The past few outings haven't gone the way I wanted, so I tried to get back on track," the 24-year-old said. "I told myself to go out and take it one pitch, one batter at a time and see what happens. Luckily, the ball was bouncing my way tonight. That's the thing -- sometimes it just doesn't go your way or you have bad luck. But you've gotta roll with it and stick to your process."
Handed a lead before throwing a pitch, Woodruff needed 36 pitches to get through the first two innings, issuing a walk in each frame. After walking Jaff Decker with two outs in the second, the right-hander retired 12 straight Sounds until Barreto lined a 1-2 pitch into left for the Sounds' first hit. Woodruff fell behind Matt Olson, 3-0, but battled back to strike out the A's No. 15 prospect with his 99th and final pitch.
"My first two innings, I was struggling with my fastball command," the Mississippi native said. "I had a few walks but made some good pitches when I needed to and then I settled in. I started throwing my off-speed stuff for first-pitch strikes and got some early swings to get ahead."

The outing represented a nice rebound for Woodruff, who had a 4.82 ERA in May prior to Sunday's start. The Mississippi State product compiled a 6.75 ERA during a three-game losing streak in which he allowed 22 hits and 12 earned runs over 16 innings. The slump was in stark contrast to his hot start to the year as Woodruff won all four starts in April while posting a 1.61 ERA. 
Drafted in the 11th round in 2014, Woodruff enjoyed a breakout campaign last year. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder posted a 2.68 ERA and led all Brewers Minor Leaguers with 14 wins with Class A Advanced Brevard County and Double-A Biloxi. He held opponents to a .209 average and led the Minors with 173 strikeouts.
Tyler Cravy worked around a hit in the seventh to complete Colorado Springs' second shutout of the season.
Iván De Jesús Jr., who had four hits in the twinbill, and René García both homered in the opener, while Brewers No. 10 prospect Brett Phillips had two hits, including an RBI triple.

Ryan Lavarnway's single scored A's No. 4 prospect Matt Chapman with one out in the bottom of the seventh to give Nashville a 2-1 win in the nightcap.
Corey Walter (1-0) went the distance for the Sounds, allowing a run on six hits with no walks and two strikeouts.