The Cubs defeated the Brewers 5-3 at Wrigley Field in Thursday’s opener and then won Saturday’s game 9-0 to go 2-0 in the season. The Brewers won the Central last season while the Cubs finished with their worst record since 2013, so the results are at least mildly notable – while also acknowledging that they have 160 games left – but something that might be more exciting for casual baseball fans is happened late .
It didn’t start here, and we’ll get to that, but here’s Keegan Thompson, Cubs reserve man, beating the Brewers’ Andrew McCutchen and clearing benches.
There was a lot of tinkering. Thompson was ejected. Jason Heyward came in straight from midfield. Lorenzo Cain was front and center for the Brewers. Some of the more heated conversations took place between Cubs catcher Willson Contreras and the Brewers, particularly members of their coaching staff. We find the root here and pull a bit.
Contreras was hit by a pitch on Thursday and again on Saturday. Those two give him 15 career hit-by pitches by the Brewers. No other team has hit him half as badly. These two teams have often fallen out with this stuff in general for years as well.
Also, in the half-inning before the above riot (and we’re using that word loosely here since it was more of a gathering), Cubs cleanup hitter Ian Happ was knocked in the knee and forced out of the game. It was a breaking ball and clearly unintentional, but it seems like the Cubs, in conjunction with the Contreras stuff and recent history in general, decided enough is enough.
“I don’t think anyone had any intention of playing back-to-back today except one,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said after the game (about Bally Sports Wisconsin), alluding to Thompson’s pitch as the intentional one. “I think both sides will tell you that. Free benches when someone is intentionally thrown at someone and that’s exactly what happened today.”
Anyway, the most important thing you can do here is keep going and just play baseball. The two teams face off again on Sunday, with Marcus Stroman getting the ball for the Cubs against the Brewers’ Freddy Peralta.
Regarding any of this affecting the action on the field, Happ got x-rays on his knee and said they were negative. Happ has been a big part of the Cubs’ road to success this season, having finished 2021 with a .323/.400/.655 in his last 44 games last season. He’s cleaned in both games so far this season and is 5-7 with a .778 on-base percentage, two doubles, four RBI and three runs. Losing him early would be a blow, if only for a couple of games, so it’s a situation worth monitoring.