The Milwaukee Brewers were on the road for Opening Day, losing to the Chicago Cubs, 3-0. It sounds odd talking about the first game of the season near the end of July, and not even hitter-friendly conditions, warm, windy, muggy weather, was enough to get the Crew’s bats going. In the runup to the regular season, many pundits wondered if there would be a complete game this year, given the prominent role bullpens now play and expanded 30-man rosters. The Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks laid that speculation to rest, going nine and giving up just three hits. He needed only 103 pitches to record 27 outs.
Milwaukee got an excellent start from right-hander Brandon Woodruff, allowing two runs in five innings for a 3.60 ERA. It’s a short turnaround, with Saturday’s game on a matinee affair on the Fox broadcast network. First pitch is 12:05 PM. Corbin Burnes is expected to toe the rubber for the Brewers. The Cubs with counter with veteran Yu Darvish.
