As Opening Day looms large, the Brewers are fine-tuning their game, and boy, did they put on a show against the Rangers. With Brandon Woodruff's status still a bit of a question mark, he took the mound in a key start, but it was the Brewers' offense that stole the spotlight, cruising to an 11-4 victory.
The Brewers wasted no time getting on the board. Sal Frelick kicked things off with a walk, swiped second, and then crossed the plate thanks to an Andrew Vaughn single.
The fireworks continued in the second inning with back-to-back homers from Gary Sánchez and Luis Rengifo, adding two more runs. David Hamilton chipped in with a single and a steal, setting up Joey Ortiz to drive him home.
Just like that, the Brewers were up 4-0 after two innings.
The fourth inning was where the Brewers really flexed their muscles. Vaughn started with a single, and after a fielding error allowed Garrett Mitchell to reach, Sánchez walked to load the bases.
Rengifo's flyout didn't slow them down, as Brandon Lockridge smacked an RBI double, bringing in two runs. Hamilton wasn't done either, adding another RBI double to the tally.
This offensive explosion chased Rangers starter Jacob Latz from the game, and Dane Acker came in to try and stop the bleeding. After a Frelick groundout and an Ortiz walk, Christian Yelich capped off the inning with a three-run homer.
By the end of the third inning, the Brewers had racked up 11 runs.
On the mound, Woodruff started strong with two perfect innings, striking out two. But things got a bit rocky in the third.
The Rangers' Tyler Wade singled, and Alejandro Osuna followed with an RBI double. Woodruff managed to strike out Jonah Bride and Joc Pederson, but a walk to Evan Carter added some tension.
Joe Corbett came in to relieve Woodruff, finishing the inning with a strikeout of Danny Jansen.
Woodruff came back for the fourth but ran into trouble quickly, giving up back-to-back homers to Ezequiel Duran and Mark Canha. After getting Sam Haggerty to line out, his day was done.
Over his outing, Woodruff pitched three innings across four frames, allowing three runs on four hits, including two homers, while striking out four and walking one on 62 pitches. Despite some velocity concerns, Woodruff felt good about his performance.
After that, the bullpens took over and held firm. Trevor Megill struck out two in the fifth, and Abner Uribe, fresh from the World Baseball Classic, allowed a single but settled down to retire the next three batters.
Jared Koenig faced some heat in the seventh with back-to-back singles but escaped thanks to a double play. Grant Anderson and Stiven Cruz each worked scoreless innings to seal the win.
Vaughn and Hamilton each collected two hits, with Yelich driving in three runs from his second homer of the spring. Lockridge and Hamilton added two RBIs apiece, while Ortiz reached base twice and contributed an RBI. The Brewers tallied nine hits, including three homers, and drew four walks.
Looking ahead, the Brewers are set for a busy day with a doubleheader. They'll kick off with a Spring Breakout game against the Mariners' prospects in Phoenix at 4:10 p.m., available on MLB Video. Later, they'll face the Diamondbacks at 8:10 p.m., with an audio broadcast on MLB.com.