Game Thread #3: Milwaukee Brewers (0-2) @ New York Yankees (2-0)

Brewers look to salvage one in a dispiriting opening series

After a tough 4-2 loss on Opening Day, the Brewers are back after two days off to continue their series with the New Yo…. what’s that? They played yesterday? Hmm, I seem to have forgotten.

In all seriousness, the Brewers’ pitching staff made all sorts of the wrong kind of history yesterday in a 20-9 drubbing in which the New York Yankees, the team that employed Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle and Alex Rodriguez and Reggie Jackson and Roger Maris, set a franchise record by hitting nine home runs. Nestor Cortes’ Brewers debut was, without exaggeration, one of the worst outings in major league history. Let’s move on.

Today, the Brewers will have a chance to get some good vibes back before heading to Milwaukee for their home opener on Monday. After two days of lefties, the Yankees will finally send a right-handed starter to the mound this afternoon in the form of Marcus Stroman. There was some noise about a discontent Stroman annoyed at the possibility of relieving early in camp, but injuries to Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil have set aside those concerns for now, as he opens the season as the team’s number three starter. Stroman has had a solid career, but he was never really the star pitcher that his reputation suggested, and last season he was slightly below average (4.31 ERA, 95 ERA+, 4.62 FIP) in 29 starts; as he approaches his 34th birthday, it’s fair to wonder how much he’s got left.

The Brewers will send out last year’s trade pickup Aaron Civale in response. After starting the year with the Rays, Civale made 14 starts for Milwaukee after the trade, plus three scoreless innings against the Mets in the postseason (in what was the final game of the season). Civale had a big separation between his ERA as a Brewer (3.53) and his FIP (4.79), suggesting he benefitted from the terrific Milwaukee defense behind him. But Civale’s peripheral numbers had been quite a bit better in 2022 and 2023, particularly his walk totals, so we’ll be looking for some improvement there.

With Stroman on the hill, we’ll get our first look at Pat Murphy’s preferred lineup against right-handers today, which also means Oliver Dunn’s first start of the year. We also see the left-handed Brice Turang moving up from ninth to first in the order (where he batted most often from early May until the end of the season last year), and Murphy will use this opportunity to get Jake Bauers into the lineup with Rhys Hoskins moving to the bench. The Brewers will again use the Jackson Chourio-Garrett Mitchell-Sal Frelick alignment in the outfield with Christian Yelich serving as today’s DH.

Another early game today, with first pitch 12:35 p.m. CT. Catch it on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network, and I believe the game will also be on MLB Network for those out of market.