The Milwaukee Brewers not only lost on Opening Day, but they’re now going to be without starting third baseman Luis Urías for the next 6-8 weeks.
In the ninth inning of Thursday’s game against the Cubs, Urías hit a ground ball off reliever Michael Fulmer and after sliding into first base he got up grabbing at his hamstring. The infielder went back up to Milwaukee following the game and tests later revealed that he suffered a hamstring strain that could keep him out for a couple of months.
Here’s the play where Urías suffered the injury.
In 2022, Urías played in 119 games with the Brewers, slashing .239/.335/.404, with 16 home runs. The right-handed hitter has a career .726 OPS since making his MLB debut at the end of the 2018 season.
Patrick Wisdom got the Opening Day start at third base while Miles Mastrobuoni got the nod in right field. Those two positions are going to change on a day-to-day basis for the first few weeks. Saturday’s game features Nick Madrigal in his first regular season game at third base, while Trey Mancini starts in right field.
Left-handed hitting slugger Edwin Ríos will be the designated hitter in his Cubs debut. As expected, the top of the lineup stays the same with Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson, Ian Happ, Cody Bellinger and Mancini in the same spots as they were on Opening Day. Tucker Barnhart will also be making his Cubs debut, catching for Justin Steele.
Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki has been out with an oblique strain since the first day of spring training games on Feb. 25, but he’s getting closer to playing down in Arizona.
Suzuki has been ramping up his baseball activity, playing in the outfield for a few innings during the final week of spring training and he’ll soon be taking in-game at-bats within the next few days. The right-handed hitter has been taking batting practice and it’s good to see he’s ready for the next stage of his progression.
Meanwhile, Kyle Hendricks threw a bullpen on Friday and should be facing hitters soon. Hendricks is coming back from a shoulder issue and entered spring training about one month behind other pitchers.
Left-handed reliever Brandon Hughes will throw a live bullpen on Sunday. He was pretty much guaranteed a spot on the Opening Day bullpen, but inflammation in his knee slowed him down in spring training and ultimately led to him beginning the season on the 15-day injured list.
Using FanDuel’s odds.
Opening Day Bets:
Corbin Burnes over 6.5 K (-138) L
Dansby Swanson to hit a HR (+630) L
Nico Hoerner record a hit and score a run parlay (+181) W
Thank god for Nico Hoerner because that was the only winner from Thursday as Corbin Burnes once again could not figure out the Cubs on Opening Day and didn’t strike out more than six hitters. Burnes finished with only three strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Dansby Swanson who was +630 to hit a home, went 3-for-4, a great debut and the only out he made was on a ball he crushed to center field in the first inning.
So close.
It’s going to be a cold game at Wrigley Field Saturday, so I’m staying away from both strikeout numbers on Justin Steele and Brandon Woodruff. I’m sticking to one parlay and it’s still frisky.
Bet to make: Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger and Nick Madrigal to record a hit PARLAY (+402)
