Scott Paulus\Milwaukee Brewers
Christian Yelish has been a bright spot so far, including hitting an April 3 homer against the Cards in the ninth.
The last time the Milwaukee Brewers opened the season with two straight wins was 2008, and the Crew made the playoffs for the first time in 26 years.
The last time the Brewers were 3-0 — as they were after sweeping the San Diego Padres and heading into Milwaukee’s home opener at Miller Park on April 2 — was 2006. That year, the Brewers finished a dozen games below .500.
My point: It’s never easy to write about a 162-game season after only three games. But if performances in San Diego, especially by new outfielder acquisitions Lorenzo Cain from the Kansas City Royals and Christian Yelich from the Miami Marlins, are any indication, the 2018 Brewers have the potential to live up to high preseason expectations.
Cain, who spent part of the 2010 season on the Brewers’ roster, is already making a bigger impact than he did the first time — going 8-for-14 over three games at San Diego’s Petco Park. Yelich went 7-for-14, including a 5-for-5 game in a 7-3 romp on March 31. Cain and Yelich combined for seven of the Brewers’ 17 total runs in that opening series.
Former All-Star Ryan Braun, meanwhile, has relocated to first base and will likely split time in the lineup this season with Eric Thames. Braun’s only hit in eight at-bats against the Padres came in the form of a home run blast that scored three in a five-run ninth inning on March 30 to secure an 8-6 win.
The Brewers got off to a strong start last year, too, then hung around until the penultimate game of the season before falling out of playoff contention.
By April 3 of this young season, Milwaukee had improved to 4-1 — dropping the home opener to the St. Louis Cardinals, but coming from behind the next night with back-to-back two-out homers in the bottom of the ninth from Yelich and Braun for the 5-4 win. Next, the Chicago Cubs come to Miller Park for a big four-game weekend series. The three National League Central rivals are expected to battle for the division title.
“Last year, we missed the postseason by one game, so finding a way to win games like this could be the difference at the end of the year,” Braun told Fox Sports Wisconsin’s Sophia Minnaert after April 3’s walk-off win.
Who knows? He might be right.
