Thank god for Opening Day. If not for the dramatics of Opening Day, Milwaukee could be staring down the barrel of an 0-3 start to the season. Thankfully, they came up big on Thursday to make sure they’re 1-2 on the season. It’s very early. There is no need to overreact to one series. Do all these matter? Of course. I agree with the notion that Game 1 is as important as Game 162. But what’s important to know is you likely don’t win the division in April. But you can lose a chance at the playoffs if you dig a deep enough hole, although, the Washington Nationals might push back on that. It’s still early and wish the Brewers were more competitive over the weekend yet that didn’t happen.

FIVE STARS
Corbin Burnes – What a night for Corbin Burnes. He did not deserve to be the losing pitcher on Saturday night when he dueled Jose Berrios. Burnes finished his night with 11 strikeouts in 6.1 innings with one hit allowed, and that one hit was a home run by new Brewers killer Bryon Buxton. That is a shitty way to lose a baseball game, but Burnes showed at least on Saturday that 2020 was not a fluke.

THREE STARS
Jackie Bradley Jr – In his first series with the Brewers, Jackie Bradley Jr. went YABO with a home run on Sunday afternoon. JBJ tried to bring the Brewers with a solo shot as Milwaukee trailed 6-1 before Bradley’s big hit made it 6-2. Competition is good for the Milwaukee outfielders, so, it will be great when one of them gets hot because my hope is that it motivates the others to match that player. One home run doesn’t equal a hot streak, but it’s nice to see Bradley Jr. not pressing in the beginning stages of his Brewers’ career.

TWO STARS
Adrian Houser – One of the players that I think most players are hoping for a bounce-back year is Adrian Houser. He did alright on Sunday. It was the definition of ‘fine’, right? You hope that the Brewers’ offense would do enough to make sure Milwaukee was close after only giving up two runs. But there was no run support to be seen. No need to overreact to this one from Houser.

ONE STAR
Brewers bullpen – If there is one thing to be worried about with the Brewers so far, it’s the bullpen. Each game has featured Milwaukee giving up a run or multiple runs. On Thursday afternoon, Eric Yardley gave up two runs. On Saturday, Brent Suter gave up a run. Sunday, Milwaukee’s pen gave up six runs. This is slightly concerning considering many people thought the bullpen would be a strength of the Brewers. So far, it has been a disaster. Thankfully, there are 159 more of these.

Keston Hiura – Man, the bounce back for Hiura will have to wait a little bit. He did not get a hit all weekend. For a guy that is supposed to be an important part of your team, that’s not a good sign. It’s hard to know what’s going on with Hiura, but maybe, the move to first base is affecting him at the plate. The good news for Hiura is he sees Trevor Williams on Monday. Hiura has three homers against Williams in his career.

Next up: Brewers head to Chicago to take on the Cubs who started the season 2-1 after beating the Pirates twice. Former Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams takes the hill against Brett Anderson. Williams struggled against the Brewers last two years. Anderson faces his old mates. Very interested to see how he does with this new defense behind him.

Charlie.