Brewers win first game of 2023, beat Cubs 3-1

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers took their first game of 2023 Saturday afternoon, beating the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field by a final of 3-1 in Brandon Woodruff’s first start.

Milwaukee got off to a quick start, as Mike Brosseau walked to lead off the game and Christian Yelich walked to put runners at first and second with one out. William Contreras then grounded into a double play to get out of the inning.

Neither team had much offense from that point until the bottom of the sixth, when the Cubs finally broke through with a solo homer via Ian Happ, the first of the year for either team.

After going scoreless in the first 16 innings of the regular season, the Brewers finally produced some offense in the eighth. Brian Anderson kicked off the inning with a single, followed by a Garrett Mitchell walk and an RBI single by Jesse Winker. Brice Turang replaced Winker at first and immediately stole a base to put runners on second and third with nobody out.

Javier Assad then induced a ground out from Brosseau, walked Willy Adames to load the bases, and struck Yelich. With two outs and the bases loaded, Contreras managed to hit a bloop single into right to score both Mitchell and Turang, making it 3-1 Brewers.

In his first appearance of the season, Devin Williams got into some trouble in the bottom of the ninth, allowing Dansby Swanson and Happ to both reach on singles to open the inning. he then got a double play ball from Cody Bellinger before Miles Mastrobuoni struck out to end the game.

On the mound, Woodruff lasted six innings, allowing just the one run on three hits and a walk while striking out eight. Peter Strzelecki, Matt Bush, and Williams each pitched scoreless innings in the victory, as Strzelecki earned the win.

In his MLB debut, Joey Wiemer got a double in two at-bats. While the Brewers only had six hits and four walks as a team, they did just enough to get the win.

Milwaukee returns to action on Sunday against the Cubs in the rubber match of the series. Eric Lauer gets the ball for the Brewers against Jameson Taillon for the Cubs. First pitch is at 1:20 p.m. CT on Bally Sports Wisconsin and the Brewers Radio Network.