Woodard Goes the Distance, 9-1

Jeff Cirillo drove in four runs with a double and a two-run homer and Steve Woodard pitched the Milwaukee Brewers’ first complete game in nearly a year Friday night in a 9-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The 113-game streak, a National League record, dated to Jeff Juden’s victory over the Pirates last June 13.

Woodard, who gave up eight hits, was working on the first shutout of his career until Brian Giles homered to start the ninth.

Cirillo doubled in two runs during a three-run third inning started by Woodard’s third hit of the season, then followed Marquis Grissom’s double in the fifth with his second homer.

A one-day layoff for an exhibition game in Huntsville, Ala., apparently did not affect Cirillo’s batting stroke. He is 14 for 32 (.438) with two homers and seven runs batted in during his last eight games.

Woodard (2-1) kept the Pirates off balance with a slider-curve pitch--the so-called slurve--that constantly had them out in front of pitches, getting five popup outs and six more on relatively short fly balls.

The right-hander also helped himself at the plate with a single and two sacrifice bunts.