Brewers 3, Cubs 1: Bats Come Through in a Pinch

Box Score
SP: Brandon Woodruff: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (97 pitches, 69ca strikes (58.9%)
Home Runs: None. 
Top 3 WPA: Jesse Winker (0.290), William Contreras (0.187), Brandon Woodruff (0.149) 

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Ace #2 Fantastic in First Outing 
Brandon Woodruff would be making Opening Day starts for many organizations. With the Brewers, he gets to follow Corbin Burnes. However, both starters could be classified as “Aces.” 

On Saturday afternoon, Woodruff was absolutely fantastic. He gave up a couple of hits and a walk, but through five innings, he did not allow a run. In the sixth inning, he made his one mistake, and Ian Happ deposited into the right field basket for a home run. After a loss on Opening Day, Woodruff provided the Brewers with what they needed. He was very good for six innings. He worked fast. He mixed his pitches well. He missed a lot of bats. In summary, he was strong and gave his team a chance to stick in the game. 

Brewers Batters Assist Time of Game Issues
Baseball has implemented several rule changes this season, most designed to improve the pace of play. In doing that, the time of game should be shortened, and we’ve certainly seen that early this season across the game. 

While it may not improve pace of play, the Brewers hitters have helped keep the Time of Game down. They were shutout in the season opener, and in this game, they were shut down for the first seven innings. Lefty Justin Steele looked great against the Brewers’ lineup. He tossed six scoreless innings and gave up just three hits and a walk. He struck out eight batters. 

Javier Assad, who pitched great in the WBC, pitched a scoreless seventh inning. However, in the 8th inning, the Brewers offense showed up and began their season. Brian Anderson led off the inning with a single to center. Garrett Mitchell came off the bench to pinch hit and worked a walk. Newcomer Jesse Winker then pinch hit and singled to center to score Anderson and tie the game. Brice Turang pinch ran for Winker and stole second base. After Mike Brosseau grounded out, Michael Fulmer replaced Assad. 

Fulmer walked Willy Adames to load the bases, but followed it with a strikeout of Christian Yelich for the second out. However, William Contreras came up, and it may not have been pretty, but he reached out and punched a soft liner to right field to score two runs and give the Brewers a 3-1 lead. 

Fortunately, that was enough for Woodruff and the bullpen to hang onto. And the game finished in two hours and 32 minutes! 

Wiemer Debut 
On Thursday, Brice Turang and Gus Varland both made their big-league debuts. 

Unfortunately toward the end of the game, infielder Luis Urias was hurt. Saturday morning, the team announced that he was going on the Injured List and outfield prospect Joey Wiemer made his MLB debut. He batted ninth and played in center field. 

In his first at bat, he swung at the first pitch and hit a soft liner down the right field line and got a hustle-double, showing off his tremendous speed. 

He didn’t waste any time in his second at bat either. He swung at the first pitch and flew out to medium-deep center. When his spot came up in the eighth inning, Jesse Winker pinch hit for him. 

A third successful debut for a Brewers prospect in the first two games. 

Airbender Bent but Did Not Break
Peter Strzelecki and Matt Bush each worked a quick, scoreless inning to set up the first Save opportunity for Devin Williams, and it did get a little scary. 

Dansby Swanson led off with an infield single off of Williams. After a short delay, Ian Happ followed with a single to right field. 

Cody Bellinger came up, representing the winning run for the Cubs, but Williams got a ground ball double play. He followed with a strikeout to end the game. 

What’s Next? 
On Sunday at 1:10 pm central time, the Brewers and Cubs will complete their first series of the season. Eric Lauer will start for The Crew opposite the first Cubs start of Jameson Taillon.  

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet