Brandon Woodruff, Brewers Poised to Bounce Back vs. Cardinals in Home Opener

After a dud on Opening Day, Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Corbin Burnes carved up the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Wednesday. The reigning NL Cy Young award winner breezed through seven scoreless innings, striking out eight Orioles on 97 pitches.

As the Brewers open up their season at home with a division rivalry game against the St. Louis Cardinals, I'm betting on history to repeat itself again today when Brandon Woodruff takes the mound.

Milwaukee is a slight favorite at home against St. Louis at WynnBET Sportsbook at -140 on the moneyline, and -1.5 (+127) on the run line, a bet that I'll be placing ahead of first pitch at 4:14 p.m. CT.

The 1B to Burnes in the Brewers' rotation, Woodruff lasted only 3.2 innings at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs last Saturday, giving up seven earned runs while walking three and only striking out two. Similar to last year, the 5th place finisher in the NL Cy Young struggled in his first start of the season; going just four innings against the Minnesota Twins.

After that clunker, he was nails.

Over his next 10 starts, Woodruff averaged 6.2 IP, allowing seven total earned runs while striking out an average of 7.8 batters in each game. His ERA over that 10-game stretch was 0.94!

Burnes made his adjustments after his first start to get back on track, and I trust Woodruff to do the same.

For what it's worth, BetSided's Matt De Saro disagrees, citing the Brewers' lack of offense and 1-5 start on the run line as cause for concern. He also points out the success of Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright who continues to age in reverse.

I've ultimately seen Woodruff showcase terrific stuff in the early portions of the season, and now back at home, where he pitched to a 2.31 ERA last year, I love his team's odds to strike back.

PICK: Brewers Moneyline -140

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