Milwaukee and Chicago won’t have any time to ease into the season when the National League Central rivals square off Thursday afternoon in an Opening Day matchup. The Brewers struggled down the stretch of the regular season last year, ultimately missing the postseason for the first time since 2017. Chicago suffered its second consecutive losing campaign, although its 74-88 record was better than some expected.
Milwaukee is desperate to get off to a fresh start following a disappointing finish to the 2022 campaign. The Brewers led the NL Central by three games when they traded star closer Josh Hader on Aug. 1 last year, proceeding to go 29-31 to finish with an 86-76 record that was not good enough for a spot in the playoffs. They relied on their pitching to win games throughout the season, allowing opponents to hit .229, which was the third-lowest mark in the majors. Their offense needs more from former All-Star Christian Yelich, who has hit a combined .243 over the past three seasons.
One. More. Sleep. #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/j4QUBXPYKq
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) March 30, 2023
Shortstop Willy Adames had a breakout campaign, setting career highs in homers (31) and RBI (98). Rowdy Tellez was a bright spot as well, recording career highs in home runs (35) and RBI (89). All-Star catcher William Contreras hit 20 homers in 97 games last year and was a major addition from the Braves. The Brewers finished the 2022 season ranked No. 22 in team batting average (.235). Ace Corbin Burns will make the start for Milwaukee on Thursday afternoon after going 12-8 with a 2.94 ERA last year, setting career highs in starts (33), strikeouts (243) and innings (202). He lost his arbitration case with the Brewers in the offseason, admitting that there is some bad blood between him and the franchise. Burnes went 0-1 with a 2.37 ERA in three starts against Chicago last season.
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