MILWAUKEE- Brandon Woodruff is not letting the moment pass him by.
Coming off a season in which he went 3 and 5, Woodruff says he’s relishing the opportunity in being the first Brewer to take the mound this year.
“It’s a huge honor, there’s so many great pitchers that never had the chance to have an opening day start and it’s something that I don’t take lightly,” Woodruff told WTMJ’s Greg Matzek during spring training. “I realize it’s the first game of the year and hopefully I have another 30-plus starts so I try not to put too much stock in it but it’s definitely an honor to go out there first.”
Woodruff was also the Brewers Opening Day starter in a pandemic shortened 2020 season when the Crew fell to the Chicago Cubs 3-0.
Beginning his third season in the big leagues, Woodruff says he has one clear goal in mind. Eat innings.
“It’s always a goal to go out there and throw 200 innings,” he said. “It’s a lot but if you can do that you’re carrying a load and taking a load off the bullpen, which we tend to use a lot.”
In 2019, the last full MLB season, just fifteen pitches topped the 200 inning mark.