Brewers Ace Brandon Woodruff Placed on IL with Oblique Injury

The Milwaukee Brewers will reportedly be without All-Star pitcher Brandon Woodruff in the immediate future after he suffered a left oblique injury during Sunday's win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.  

Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the news, noting Woodruff will be placed on the injured list.

Woodruff started Sunday's contest but left in the fourth inning after allowing four earned runs, six hits and two walks with three strikeouts. The bullpen didn't allow a run the rest of the game, which allowed Milwaukee to overcome an early 4-0 deficit and notch a 7-4 win.

Haudricourt pointed out the inherent uncertainty with such an injury, which could leave the Brewers scrambling for weeks:

The right-hander had made just 12 career starts entering the 2019 campaign but has carried Milwaukee's rotation for stretches this year. He entered Sunday's contest with a 3.53 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 133 strikeouts in 114.2 innings. He'd allowed only one run in each of his previous three starts.

Woodruff and the Brewers are just two games behind the Chicago Cubs in what figures to be a tight National League Central race for a second straight year. They beat Chicago in a tiebreaker game for the division last season, underscoring how important every outing is heading into the pressure-packed stretch run of the pennant race.

Milwaukee will need Jhoulys Chacin, Zach Davies, Chase Anderson and Gio Gonzalez to carry the rotation while Woodruff is out. But until its ace returns, it is still far less dangerous in the division race and as a potential playoff opponent.