Brewers Begin 2018 Season

The Milwaukee Brewers have gotten off to a 7-6 start to their 2018 season and are currently second place the the NL Central Division behind the Pirates. The Brewers began their season hot, winning their first three games and sweeping the Padres at their own stadium. But since then, they have had a tough stretch, losing 6 of their last 10 games.

The Brewers come into the season with high expectations due to notable newcomers such as outfielder Christian Yelich, and outfielder Lorenzo Cain. Both players have been all star caliber players for years.

Senior Alexander Waterstraat was happy with the performance of Cain and Yelich prior to their injuries.

“Cain and Yelich were hitting extremely well,” Waterstraat said. “They were also playing really well in the field. The offensive spark of them at the top of the order helped the team put up runs.”

The Brewers also have many returning starters such as Ryan Braun who plays multiple positions, shortstop Orlando Arcia, third basemen Travis Shaw, first basemen Eric Thames, and many others.

Sophomore Thomas Hess is impressed with how the Brewers have been performing.

“They look better than last year,” Hess said. “They have more players in the lineup who can contribute in the field and at the plate. Their pitching still needs work though.”

Because of the Brewers upgrading their roster and getting off to a decent start to the season, some GHS students have gone to Miller Park to watch the Brewers play first hand.

“Watching a game this year is more exciting than it usually is,” sophomore Samuel Muth said. “There’s more fans, they have better players which is nice to see, and there is more of a winning atmosphere.”

The Brewers attendance rates so far this year are at its highest since 2011 where the made the playoffs. They are averaging about 35,073 people per game this season so far, almost 4,000 more than the 2017 season. In the 2011 season, the Brewers were averaging about 37,918 people per game.

The Brewers schedule so far has been nothing but easy, especially after losing closer Corey Knebel to a hamstring injury. Ever since sweeping the Padres, the Brewers played a four game series with the Cubs who are one of the best teams in the National League. They lost three of four games during that series.

They also played two three games series’s with the Cardinals who are always a contending team. They split the six games against them, winning three of them. In some of the losses against those teams, they often had trouble closing games out. They made crucial errors in final innings, as well as not keeping leads in bottom half of innings which would later lead to losing those games in extra innings.

Freshman Connor Kramp thinks the Brewers will finish at the top of the National League by the end of the year.

“If they stay healthy I think the can finish top three,” Kramp said. “They have without a doubt one of the most talented rosters in the MLB, so if they stay healthy there should be no reason they don’t dominate the MLB.”

It’s clear that the Brewers have gained a lot of attention from fans this year. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2011, but with their upgraded roster fans have definitely gained excitement and hope to see the Brewers finish as a top team and make a deep playoff run.