Brewers: 5 Studs And Duds from the Opening Series Victory Versus the Cubs

The first 16 innings of the Milwaukee Brewers 2023 season was rather uneventful as the team set a franchise record for the longest scoring drought to begin a season. However, after that they played quite well and ended up taking two out of three games against the division rival Chicago Cubs.

In this article we will highlight some players who performed well over the opening series and others who ended up hoping that getting out of the frigid Chicago weather would do them some good. Players who performed well will be studs and those who did not are duds.

Here are five studs and duds from the opening series of 2023 against the Cubs.

Milwaukee Brewers stud from the opening series against the Cubs: "The Freshmen"

The Brew Crew's top homegrown prospects put on quite a show last weekend and therefore will get lumped into one group as a stud for this series. Both Brice Turang and Joey Wiemer collected their first career hits on the first pitches that they saw. Additionally, Turang reached base safely four times in the series finale victory.

As a group, they all showcased their ability to impact the game with their speed. Garrett Mitchell had a stand up triple where his first-to-third time was 11.43 seconds. Turang beat out an infield single in which he was clocked at 29.9 feet per second (20.38 MPH). Lastly, Wiemer extended an inning by beating out a double play ball while traveling 28.6 feet per second (19.5 MPH).

Milwaukee Brewers stud from the opening series against the Cubs: Jesse Winker

Jesse Winker, acquired via trade last offseason, came through with a pinch-hit RBI single during last Saturday's game to plate the Brewers' first run of the season. The next day, he had a three-RBI game to record a team leading four RBIs during the series. After a rough 2022 campaign with Seattle, it's nice to see him get off to a good start with the Brewers.

Milwaukee Brewers dud from the opening series against the Cubs: Rowdy Tellez

Brewers first baseman Rowdy Tellez had a rough time at the plate in Chicago. The towering left-handed slugger recorded just one hit in 11 at-bats while striking out six times. This was a very small three-game sample size, so no need to panic just yet.

Milwaukee Brewers stud from the opening series against the Cubs: Brandon Woodruff

Big Woo put together a spectacular performance on Saturday. He pitched six strong innings, gave up three hits, walked one, and struck out eight. Brandon Woodruff's changeup to left-handed hitters was nearly untouchable and his command looked great.

Milwaukee Brewers dud from the opening series against the Cubs: Javy Guerra

Reliever Javy Guerra gave the Brewers a bit of scare last weekend. The 27-year-old, who is out of minor league options, pitched a scoreless frame on Opening Day but then had a shaky second outing on Sunday where he got tagged with two earned runs. Hoby Milner had to relieve him after he walked the first two batters of the eighth inning and then gave up a single.

It can't be fun to play in the chilly confines of Wrigley Field to start a season, let alone two years in a row. Luckily the end result for the series was better in 2023 than it was in 2022.