Hoffman gets his work in early

Closer Trevor Hoffman, who was penciled in for an inning of work against the Angels, opted instead for a 32-pitch bullpen session on a back mound at Maryvale Baseball Park on Thursday morning.

“He wanted to work on some things and felt more comfortable doing it back there,” Brewers pitching coach Bill Castro said. “That’s fine. He feels he gets more out of doing it that way.”

Unlike many veteran pitchers who use Spring Training to “work on things” and don’t necessarily care about the results, Hoffman said after his Cactus League debut Wednesday that he approaches games the same whether it’s February or October. If he’s pitching, he’s pitching to get outs.

The Brewers are allowing Hoffman to set his own spring schedule, and by moving his work to the bullpen, he actually increased his workload a bit. Hoffman was only scheduled for about 20 pitches in Thursday’s game.

“I actually stood in [the batter's box] today when he was finishing up,” bullpen coach Stan Kyles said. “He looks good. I can see why he’s been pretty much unhittable in the ninth inning. It’s pretty impressive.”