Inside The Cubs

Observations From Cubs' 4-0 Win On Opening Day Against Brewers

Behind a four-run third inning, the Chicago Cubs and Marcus Stroman bested their division rival Milwaukee Brewers on Opening Day.

Ryan Sikes

Observations From Cubs' 4-0 Win On Opening Day Against Brewers
Observations From Cubs' 4-0 Win On Opening Day Against Brewers /
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The Chicago Cubs topped the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-0, on Opening Day in front of 36,054 patrons in 42-degree weather at Wrigley Field.

Marcus Stroman was brilliant over six strong innings. The 31-year-old needed 90 pitches to keep the Brewers at bay, finishing with a line of: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K.

The Cubs' offense plated all four of their runs in the third inning off Brewers starter Corbin Burnes, who had a 2.63 ERA in eight previous appearances at Wrigley Field coming into Thursday.

A few observations from Thursday's win.

Stroman Escapes Jam

The Cubs' ace cruised through the first two innings before running into trouble in the third inning. The Brewers loaded the bases with only one out, but Rowdy Tellez grounded into an inning-ending double play. Nico Hoerner started the play, and Dansby Swanson finished it.

Swanson Delivers

Dansby Swanson will surely remember his first game in a Cubs uniform. After a 109-mph flyout in his first at-bat, the Vanderbilt product delivered a two-run single in the bottom half of the third inning. Miles Mastrobuoni, who got the start in right field, came around to score on the hit. Hoerner also came in to score after the cut-off throw to first got away. Wrigley was absolutely jumping. Swanson would go onto collect three hits in his debut.

Gomes Tough Day Behind The Plate

Marcus Stroman and Yan Gomes appeared to be having some trouble getting on the same page. The latter was responsible for a couple of passed balls, and the former with a wild pitch. Hopefully, it's a non-issue going forward and, frankly, could be attributed to the two not being able to work together all that much in spring with Stroman in the WBC. None of the plays led to runs on Thursday, but it's something to keep an eye on in Stroman's next start for sure.

Thompson Dazzles

The narrative throughout the spring was Keegan Thompson's velocity or lack thereof. However, he needed just 14 pitches to get through the 7th inning, taking over for Stroman. Added, he zipped a 95 mph fastball past Garrett Mitchell for the second out of the inning.

The Cubs (1-0) have the day off on Friday before resuming their series with the Brewers on Saturday. Justin Steele will get the ball for the North Siders in Game 2, with first pitch set for 1:20 pm CST.

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Ryan Sikes
RYAN SIKES

Ryan is a Chicago Cubs writer for Sports Illustrated's Inside The Cubs, an IBWAA member, and has followed the Cubs since the mid-1990s. He grew up in the Rockford area and used to attend a handful of games every summer at Wrigley Field, including Aramis Ramirez's walkoff home run against the Milwaukee Brewers in 2007 after the Cubs trailed 5-0.He attended the University of Iowa and currently resides in the western suburbs. In addition to covering the Cubs, he covers the USHL for FloHockey and NCAA hockey for College Hockey News. When he's not writing or watching sports, he enjoys hanging out with his wife and three kids.

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