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The right-handed Maeda finished second to
Cleveland's Shane Bieber in the balloting after compiling a 6-1
record and a 2.70 ERA in 11 starts. Minnesota finished a game
ahead of both the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians with a
36-24 record before losing in two games to the Houston Astros in
a wild-card series.
"The year that he had last year ... there was no way of denying
him (the assignment)," Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli told
MLB.com when announcing the decision back on March 14. "I think
it was the right thing to do."
It also doesn't hurt that Maeda is 3-2 with a 2.59 ERA in seven
career starts against the Brewers and also flirted with throwing
a no-hitter in his last start against them on Aug. 18 at Target
Field. Eric Sogard led off the ninth inning of that contest with
a soft liner over the glove of shortstop Jorge Polanco to end
the no-hit bid.
Maeda allowed one run on one hit and two walks over eight-plus
innings while striking out 12 -- including a club record eight
in a row during one stretch -- in a game Minnesota eventually
won in 12 innings, 4-3.
Maeda also picked up the win in a 12-2 road victory over the
Brewers six days earlier. He went 1-0 with a 1.84 ERA in two
starts against Milwaukee in 2020, allowing just six hits and
three walks in 14 2/3 innings while striking out 17.
"When I first came over to Major League Baseball, being an
Opening Day starter (is something) I never dreamed of," Maeda
said. "I'm excited for the opportunity."
Milwaukee will counter with right-hander Brandon Woodruff, the
first Brewers starter to work consecutive Opening Day games
since Yovani Gallardo started five in a row from 2010-14.
Woodruff went 3-5 with a 3.05 ERA in 13 starts last season as
Milwaukee finished fourth in the National League Central, five
games behind the Chicago Cubs with a 29-31 record. He is 0-2
with a 3.38 ERA in two career starts against Minnesota including
a 7-1 loss in his lone start last season in Minneapolis when he
allowed two runs on nine hits and a walk over five innings while
striking out three.
Milwaukee finished with a meager .223 team batting average last
season with 2018 NL MVP and two-time batting champ Christian
Yelich hitting just .205 with 12 homers and 22 RBIs. The
Brewers, who plan to win with pitching and defense, signed
outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. and second baseman Kolten Wong to
join fellow Gold Glove winners Yelich and Lorenzo Cain on the
roster.
"It's going to be one of those teams that people really need to
look out for, because we've got it all," Wong told MLB.com. "Our
pitching staff is really good. We've got 'Yeli' who just knows
how to flat-out hit. You've got Lorenzo Cain coming back. To add
JBJ to that, that's going to be awesome."
After a day off on Friday, the three-game series continues on
Saturday night. Minnesota won four of the six meetings between
the teams last season.
--Field Level Media
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