Cubs at Brewers Series Preview (Apr 7-9): TV & Game Info, Pitching Matchups, Insights
Well, well, well, looks like somebody forgot to do a series preview for the first series of the season. Um, yeah, that was my bad, but I swear it won’t happen again.
Now that we’ve got that awkwardness out of the way, let’s get to it.
The Cubs travel to Milwaukee to start a weekend series against the vaunted (or not) Brewers. The Cubs were 11-8 against the Brew Crew in 2016 with a 4-5 record at Miller Park.
Why oh why did the Cubs have difficulty against the Brewers in Milwaukee last year? Well, the biggest reason is that they were outscored 32-39 in those games. Yep, the Cubs allowed an average of 4.3 runs per game to the Brewers last year at Miller Park. Ouch.
Game time and broadcast info
- Friday, April 7, 7:10 PM CT on CSN
- Saturday, April 8, 6:10 PM CT on CSN+, MLBN
- Sunday, April 9, 1:10 PM CT on WGN
Starting pitchers (*2016 stats)
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | K/BB |
| 4/7 | Brett Anderson | 29 | L | – | – | – |
| Jimmy Nelson* | 27 | R | 4.62 | 8-16 | 1.63 | |
| 4/8 | Kyle Hendricks* | 27 | R | 2.13 | 16-8 | 3.86 |
| Tommy Milone* | 30 | L | 5.71 | 3-5 | 2.23 | |
| 4/9 | Jake Arrieta* | 31 | R | 3.10 | 18-8 | 2.50 |
| Zach Davies* | 24 | R | 3.97 | 11-7 | 3.55 |
What to watch for
- The Cubs just finished winning two of three from the Cardinals to start the season. As a team, the Cubs hit for a .223 average in that first series, with Kris Bryant being held hitless. That sounds bad but consider that the Cubs still scored 11 runs over those first three games with Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber, and Addison Russell combining to go 8-for-48 (.167). Look for that to change in Milwaukee.
- We’ll get our first look at new Cubs starter Brett Anderson on Friday. He has been effective when healthy, though back surgery severely hampered him last year. Anderson is a guy we know has potential but someone who fits into that “wait and see” category.