into the wild

The headlines went to Christian Yelich, who provided the offense for Milwaukee on Sunday. A less-heralded but no less important role was played by Mississippi State alum Brandon Woodruff, whose relief work helped the Brewers beat Washington 9-4. “This is Brandon Woodruff’s game,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell told mlb.com. “(T)o deliver four innings of scoreless relief in that situation is absolutely huge.” Woodruff, making his first big league appearance since July 23, came on in the fourth inning with the Brewers trailing and held the Nationals to three hits with five strikeouts through the seventh. A seven-run fifth inning, highlighted by a Yelich grand slam, put Milwaukee in charge. Combined with St. Louis’ loss to Cincinnati, the win puts the Brewers back on top in the National League wild card standings. Woodruff is 3-0 with a 4.24 ERA in 13 games with Milwaukee this season. He was 3-2, 4.04 working primarily as a starter at Triple-A Colorado Springs. He could be a valuable piece for the Brewers in the heat of this playoff chase. … The New York Yankees, leading the American League wild card race, were hoping for better stuff from ex-Ole Miss star Lance Lynn than they’ve gotten of late. Lynn was KO’d in the fourth inning — by a two-run double by Richton High alum JaCoby Jones — and wound up taking the loss in an 11-7 defeat against Detroit at Yankee Stadium. Lynn was charged with six runs in 3 2/3 innings. Acquired from Minnesota in a July trade, the big right-hander is 1-2 with a 5.09 ERA in his seven games with the Yankees. The Yanks head to Oakland, No. 2 in the wild card standings, for a three-game series beginning today. P.S. Former State star Chris Stratton, whose San Francisco club has waved a white flag on the postseason, pitched well on Sunday: three hits, two runs in six innings. But he was up against the New York Mets’ Noah Syndergaard, who tossed a complete game and beat the Giants 4-1. Stratton is 9-8, 4.90.