Minnesota Twins right-hander Bartolo Colon has pitched in 526 games in his big league career -- or 525 more than Brewers rookie Brandon Woodruff.
The two face off in an interesting pitching matchup Wednesday in Milwaukee when the 44-year-old Colon takes the mound for Minnesota against the 24-year-old Woodruff.
The Brewers righty made his major league debut Friday against Tampa Bay. Colon (3-9, 7.32 ERA) made his big league debut in 1997, when Woodruff was 4 years old.
"They're on opposite ends of the spectrum, for sure," said Brewers manager Craig Counsell, who was 1-for-3 with a home run in his career against Colon. "It'll be good. Brandon gets to hit for the first time, so that'll be fun for him. And we faced Bartolo in a different uniform already this year. He's always a unique matchup. He's one-of-a-kind."
Colon has faced the Brewers 10 times in his lengthy career, going 4-3 with a 4.89 ERA. One of those starts was earlier this year when Colon was with Atlanta. He surrendered six runs and 10 hits, receiving a no-decision in a 10-8 victory for the Braves.
Woodruff (1-0, 0.00 ERA) turned in an impressive debut performance. He held the Rays scoreless over 6 1/3 innings, striking out six while allowing seven hits and walking two in a 2-0 victory. Woodruff now faces a Twins team that has rallied for come-from-behind victories in three consecutive games.
Wednesday marks Colon's fifth start with the Twins since they signed him in early July -- and already the second time Colon will get to hit for Minnesota during an interleague series. Colon is a career .086 hitter, going 25-for-292 at the plate during his 20-plus seasons in the big leagues. He was 0-for-1 with a sacrifice the first time he batted for the Twins.
"It'll be in the lineup," Twins manager Paul Molitor joked when asked about Colon's bat in interleague play. "He was out there doing some early work today, too, working on that slash bunt."
Milwaukee and Minnesota just played a pair of games in Minneapolis on Monday and Tuesday before they switch venues for two games at Miller Park. The Twins took both contests at Target Field, thanks to a five-homer performance Tuesday in an 11-4 victory.
Now they make the short trip to Milwaukee.
"The baseball schedule over 162 games, it's going to produce some oddities," Counsell said. "I think two-game series, if you had your druthers, are always a little bit tougher just packing up, moving. It's a lot more travel. But it's cool. This is the rivalry series, so it's a fun series."
The Twins will need to make a roster move before the Wednesday game. Adalberto Mejia, the starting pitcher Tuesday, will be placed on the 10-day disabled list after experiencing left lateral upper arm pain. The left-hander exited after allowing three runs on seven hits in three-plus innings.
"I felt a little bothersome in my arm," Mejia said through an interpreter. "I couldn't help my team anymore."
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