Brewers rough up Cubs to win opening series |
CHICAGO - The 2023 MLB season has started as expected for the Chicago Cubs (1-2) as they split the first two games with the Milwaukee Brewers (2-1). Like it was most of the season last year, the Cubs pitching has been the story early on as they held Milwaukee scoreless over the first 16 innings of the season and allowed just three runs over the first two games.
With a chance to win their season-opening series at Wrigley Field, the Cubs turned to Jameson Taillon for his Cubs debut as he opposed the left-hander Eric Lauer. Unlike what the fans saw from Marcus Stroman and Justin Steele, who each went six scoreless frames, Taillon wasn't at his best as he struggled to get through four innings. Sure, he only allowed three runs, but the bullpen let the game get away as Julian Merryweather was charged for five earned runs in 2/3 of an inning to give the Brewers the 9-5 win. Like they have done all series long, the Cubs came out strong, scoring the game's first run in the bottom of the first. Nico Hoerner played a huge role by leading off the inning with a single and then swiping second. Dansby Swanson took care of the rest as his hot start to the season continued with an RBI single to put the Cubs in front 1-0. What started with a leadoff walk in the second to Rowdy Tellez, Taillon was on the verge of getting out of the inning until the Victor Caratini single kept things alive. That was followed by the Brice Turang double to bring things even 1-1, as this was the beginning of three straight innings with a run for Milwaukee. Looking to respond in the bottom of the second, it was Patrick Wisdom cashing in as his solo shot put the Cubs back in front 2-1. The Cubs continued to keep the pressure on, with Luis Torrens adding a single ahead of Nick Madrigal walk before things ended right there. As expected, the Brewers offense continued to show signs of life in the third, with Christian Yelich and Jesse Winker picking up singles to put runners on the corners and no outs. Willy Adames added a sacrifice fly shortly after to tie the game again as the Brewers scored eight unanswered runs to seize control. Milwaukee took the lead for good in the fourth on the Garrett Mitchell RBI triple, as that was the end of the line for Taillon. Tasked with keeping things close, Mark Leiter Jr was the first man out of the pen for David Ross and had to work around a pair of fifth-inning walks to keep things close. In the sixth inning, Milwaukee busted the game wide open as Merryweather was not at his best. After retiring the first batter he faced, Merryweather would walk two of the following three while allowing Joey Weimer a single as the Brewers had loaded the bases. Needing a big hit to extend the lead, Winker came through again as his RBI single pushed the lead to 5-2. That was only the beginning, with Adams adding an RBI single immediately after and Brian Anderson picking up a sacrifice fly to make things 7-2. Throw in another RBI knock from Mitchell to push the lead to 8-2, and that was it for Merryweather as Michael Rucker closed out the inning. There have been a few managerial questions for David Ross this weekend, and leaving Merryweather in as long as he did is one of those questionable decisions. With Lauer finally out of the game after five-plus innings, the Cubs were hoping they could do some damage off of the Brewers pen. It doesn't help when you allow another run in the top of the seventh as the Winker sacrifice fly pushed the lead to 9-2. That would be the game's final run for Milwaukee, but the Cubs had a huge hole to climb out of, and time was running out. Looking to battle back, Wisdom went deep for the second time in the game as he took Joel Payamps over the wall in the seventh to pull within 9-3. In the eighth inning, the Cubs bats started to make some noise, as patience was the virtue against Javy Guerra. What started with walks to Swanson and Ian Happ was followed by the Trey Mancini single as the Cubs had the bases loaded with no outs. This was their chance to have a big inning, but the Brewers managed to limit the damage as Yan Gomes picked up a sacrifice fly while Cody Bellinger was out on a fielder's choice. Two runs came home, but it could have been worse as the Cubs still trailed 9-5. Of all the pitchers on the afternoon, Adbert Alzolay has to be the one who stood out the most, as he gave the Cubs two very good innings of scoreless relief. Down to their final three outs, Gus Varland was called on to finish things off and worked around a two-out double from Hoerner to seal the deal and gave the Brewers the series win. Chicago is back in action tomorrow night when they travel to Great American Ballpark for game one of a three-game set with the Reds. Drew Smyly will get the ball. Despite the loss, the five runs scored were the most so far this season, as were the nine hits. Hoerner and Wisdom led the way with two, while the rest of the offense has yet to catch fire apart from Swanson.
