'First of many': Woodruff starts Opening Day

MILWAUKEE -- Brewers manager Craig Counsell doesn’t believe in curses. Brandon Woodruff is his pick to pitch on Opening Day.

Woodruff, the 27-year-old right-hander who has risen from 11th-round Draft pick in 2014 to Brewers Minor League Pitcher of the Year in '16 to National League All-Star in '19, is slotted to pitch the '20 opener against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on July 24.

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That had been obvious for some time to anyone who has watched Woodruff pitch and/or can count days on a calendar, but the Brewers’ so-called Opening Day curse provided just a sliver of doubt. The last five men to take the ball for Milwaukee in a regular-season opener all endured seasons ranging from barely average to downright dismal, from Kyle Lohse to Wily Peralta to Junior Guerra to Chase Anderson to Jhoulys Chacin. In Spring Training, Counsell mentioned that maybe the Brewers would do something creative to shake things up.

But, no, this was Woodruff’s assignment all along.

“Brandon Woodruff has been the Opening Day starter since early October,” Counsell said.

When Counsell delivered the news, both men hid a smile under their face covering. Counsell said he told Woodruff, “This will be the first of many to come for you.”

“My goal is to make as many as I can,” Woodruff said. “Lord willing, I’m out there for the first game the next few years. That means you’re doing something right.”

Woodruff is scheduled to pitch opposite Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks. Then left-hander Brett Anderson would start Game 2 for the Brewers opposite righty Yu Darvish, provided Anderson isn’t set back by the blister that cut short his Wednesday intrasquad outing.

Neither Counsell nor Cubs manager David Ross has named probable pitchers beyond that, but one can see the Brewers’ rotation taking shape from the order of pitchers in this week’s Blue-Gold Series at Miller Park. Woodruff pitched Day 1, followed by Anderson, then Josh Lindblom, and Adrian Houser is scheduled to start Friday night.

Corbin Burnes or Freddy Peralta presumably would slot in fifth, with the other opening the regular season as a reliever but likely to start somewhere along the way. Another potential Brewers starter, left-hander Eric Lauer, reported late to camp because he’d been in contact with an individual who tested positive for COVID-19, but he faced hitters in live batting practice on Thursday and is scheduled to pitch in an intrasquad game on Sunday or Monday. He’s not far behind.

Woodruff will aim to be the first Brewers Opening Day starter to avoid the “curse” since 2014’s Yovani Gallardo, who like Woodruff was developed in the organization. Gallardo started five consecutive season openers for the Brewers from 2010-14, when he became the team’s all-time strikeout leader.

Before that, the Brewers’ best homegrown starting pitcher was Ben Sheets, who made a club-record six Opening Day starts between 2002 and ’08.

“Such a huge honor for me to be in this position and have the nod,” Woodruff said. “It takes you back to those first days when you sign. For me, coming out of Mississippi State, 11th-rounder, I kind of knew I had to go out and prove myself. The Brewers' coaches and staff helped me develop into the pitcher I am today, and got me to where I’m at today.

“I remember signing and going to Helena [Mont.] and thinking, ‘Man, my world has changed.' I realized really quick that you have to put in a lot of hard work, and it’s going to take a lot of dedication to get to the big leagues.”

Counsell loves a good story.

An 11th-round Draft pick rising to staff ace certainly qualifies.

“It’s important that [Woodruff] is a Brewer and we developed him and he’s gone through this,” Counsell said. “Not always a perfect path, but actually a pretty good one if you even it out. Just a gradual path to this place, and he’s ready to keep going.”

Woodruff’s breakthrough came during the second half of 2018, when he made a mark out of the bullpen, including a memorable performance in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series in which he homered off Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw.

In 2019, Woodruff moved to the rotation and went 11-3 with a 3.62 ERA and 143 strikeouts in 22 starts, making his first All-Star team along the way. He was sidelined for two months from mid-July to early September by an oblique injury, but returned to be named the Brewers’ starter for the NL Wild Card Game against the Nationals.

Now the Brewers are back, though no one could have predicted the circumstances. Woodruff’s family will watch from home, including his wife, Jonie, who is due to give birth in the first week of September.

“This is a strange time,” Woodruff said. “This is supposed to be a big day; it is for the crowd, the fans … and for players. But those are just the cards we’ve been dealt this year, and we’re going to deal with it and get out there and play some baseball. Because that’s what we love to do.”