Woodruff will start opener for Brewers
Craig Counsell finally confirmed the Milwaukee Brewers’ worst-kept secret on Friday by announcing Brandon Woodruff will start the opener against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field next Friday night.
“Brandon Woodruff has been the openingday starter since early October,” Counsell said of the right-hander.
Counsell also said Brett Anderson will start the second game of the series provided he’s completely recovered from the blister on his left index finger that forced him out of his scrimmage start Wednesday.
Woodruff, 27, quickly developed into the staff ace last season, pitching well enough in the first half to earn his first career all-star nod. An oblique strain suffered early in the second half forced him to the injured list for two months, and he finished 11-3 with a 3.62 earned run average and WHIP of 1.14 in 22 starts.
Boasting a fastball that averaged 96.7 mph, Woodruff struck out 143 batters in 1212⁄3 innings.
“(Anytime) you’re named the opening-day starter, it’s a huge honor,” Woodruff said. “Opening day is the start of a new season, the start of some warm weather and some good things to come. It’s a cool moment and a cool day.
“It’s something you can always say you’ve done. It’s something they can’t take away from you, like pitching in an All-Star Game. It’s a huge honor. I’m grateful to be the opening-day starter and I’m just excited to get going.”
All the pomp and circumstance that comes with opening day normally leads managers to lean on more experienced pitchers.
But there won’t be any fans in the stands at Wrigley Field due to the pandemic, adding a rather strange
twist to what's normally one of the most raucous days of the baseball season.
“Once we get into the ballpark and get the sense that things are about to start up, it's going to be like every other game,” Woodruff said. “Obviously, no fans is going to be different.
“There will be big moments in the game and you might not realize it as much but once it sets in, we'll still be in the mindset of going out there and doing our jobs. Most of the time, as we're playing, we try to block the crowd out, anyway.”
Woodruff broke into the major leagues with the Brewers in 2017 and bounced between Milwaukee and the minor leagues for the better part of two seasons before hitting his groove out of the bullpen in
September of 2018.
He then pitched four times in the postseason that year and provided one of the signature moments in franchise history by homering off the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and pitching two scoreless innings to pick up the victory in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at Miller Park.
Woodruff also started and pitched four strong innings in the Brewers' wildcard loss at Washington last season.
Woodruff is on track to become the organization's best home-grown starter since Yovani Gallardo and before that, Ben Sheets.
“I think the first part of our conversation was, ‘This will be the first of many to come for you,'” Counsell said. “It's important that he's a Brewer. We developed him and he's gone through this not always perfect path, but actually a pretty good if you even it out, just gradual path to this place, and he's ready to keep going.” Woodruff posted a 1.80 ERA in four Cactus League starts before spring training was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic and spent the three-month break at home in Mississippi throwing off a mound he and his father built, while also playing catch with his pregnant wife, Jonie.
Woodruff has been dominant in game action since the Brewers reconvened for summer camp at Miller Park.
He will become the seventh consecutive different opening-day starter for the Brewers, joining Gallardo, Kyle Lohse, Wily Peralta, Junior Guerra, Chase Anderson and Jhoulys Chacín.
Brett Anderson is being held back from throwing in an attempt to help his blister heal. The Brewers have several other options they could pursue, but they've been planning for the veteran lefty – a ground-ball specialist – to be a fixture in the rotation.