MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brandon Woodruff was one pitch away from perfection over eight innings, and he didn't exactly regret the one that went awry.
Woodruff allowed a solo homer but was otherwise perfect before being lifted, Christian Yelich hit his major league-leading 21st home run and the Milwaukee Brewers went deep five times in a 9-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.
Woodruff (7-1) retired his first 15 batters before Andrew Knapp opened the sixth with his first homer on a low changeup.
"He did a good job on it," Woodruff said. "Maybe I could have went with a different pitch, a different selection. But I went in and asked where the pitch was, if it was down, and they said it was down. So, he did a really good job with it. Going back, you always can say you (wish you could) take it back, but at that moment I was convicted with throwing a changeup. So, you just tip your cap."
Ben Gamel had two homers for the Brewers, and Hernán Pérez and Yasmani Grandal also went long.
Woodruff struck out a career-high 10, fanning the final batter in each of his innings. Woodruff has won 6 of 8 starts since his only loss on April 10. He also pitched a career-high eight innings in his previous start against Atlanta, making him the first Brewers pitcher with consecutive starts of at least eight innings since Taylor Jungmann in 2015.
"Thank goodness for Knappy," said Bryce Harper, who struck out all three at-bats. "A lot of us thought he had stuff to be perfect today. I thought he went out there and did a good job. Sometimes it's going to be like that."
Woodruff also drove in two with a single and double, raising his average to .370.
Woodruff, who said his only no-hitter was in high school, wanted to pitch the final inning, but manager Craig Counsell opted for Matt Albers, who finished with a perfect ninth.
"I tried to," Woodruff said. "It's a long season. I asked him if I could go back out, and I asked him if he was sure. I pleaded with Craig to try to let me go back out, but I understood the decision."
Yelich opened a four-run fifth with a drive to left off Vince Velasquez. Pérez added his fifth homer, and Woodruff capped the inning with an RBI single to put the Brewers up 7-0.
Velasquez, activated off the injured list Friday and moved to the bullpen, allowed four runs, five hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning.
Gamel hit his third homer to open the third off Zach Eflin (5-5), who allowed three runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings.
