MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee’s Brandon Woodruff won’t pitch in the NL Division Series as he recovers from a right lat strain, but the Brewers aren’t closing the door on the possibility he could return later in the postseason.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy made the announcement Friday while emphasizing this is unrelated to the shoulder injury that prevented the two-time All-Star from pitching at all last season. The lat issue caused Woodruff to go on the injured list Sept. 21.

The NL Central champion Brewers face the Chicago Cubs in the best-of-5 NLDS that starts Saturday in Milwaukee.

“He’s looking into everything he possibly can to try to get healthy as soon as he can, but he has a long career ahead of him,” Murphy said. “But just the news that the shoulder is 100 percent intact is the mo

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