Milwaukee Brewers vs Chicago Cubs: Injury Reports, Predicted Lineups - April 8th, 2022 | MLB 2022
After a closely contested Opening Day matchup between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs, the teams will be back at it again at Wrigley Field for game two of the series on April 8. The Cubs took the first game 5-4, bostered by shortstop Nico Hoerner's 2-run home run in the bottom of the 5th inning to take and hold the lead for the remainder of the game.
The first home run of the season belongs to @nico_hoerner! https://t.co/eb2MnP8j8k
The electricity returned to Wrigley Field as the Cubs secured a victory over their National League Central foes. For the defending division champion Brewers, they will hope to rebound and to even the series at one game apiece in the matchup on Friday. Here are the injury reports for each team.
Milwaukee Brewers injury Report:
The Brewers hope to continue the season with relatively good health on their roster as they hope that their only loss will be Luis Urias from their starting lineup to start the season. Urias is expected back in mid-April as he resides on the 10-day IL
Justin Topa hopes to rejoin the pitching staff around June as he rehabs an elbow injury sustained in Spring Training.
Chicago Cubs Injury Report
The Chicago Cubs will continue to move forward without defensive wizard and projected starting shortstop Andrelton Simmons. However, if Nico Hoerner continues to hit for power, the Cubs may be willing to let Simmons slowly work his way back.
Left-hander Wade Miley, who signed with the Cubs in the offseason, will continue to rehab an enflamed left elbow on the 10-day IL.
Milwaukee Brewers vs Chicago Cubs: Predicted Batting Orders
The Brew Crew found offensive pop from shortstop Willie Adames and solid baserunning from Kolten Wong on Opening Day.
Milwaukee Brewers
- Kolten Wong, 2B
- Lorenzo Cain, OF
- Christian Yelich, OF
- Andrew McCutchen, DH
- Willy Adames, SS
- Rowdy Tellez, 1B
- Hunter Renfroe, OF
- Omar Narvaez, C
- Jace Peterson, 3B
An underrated portion of the game was the strong defensive play of catcher Omar Narvaez, as the catcher nabbed a potential base stealer to snuff out an early Cubs rally.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs found unexpected power from the shortstop position and hope the rest of the lineup can continue to produce.
- Rafael Ortega, DH
- Nick Madrigal, 2B
- Willson Contreras, C
- Ian Happ, OF
- Frank Schwindel, 1B
- Seiya Suzuki, OF
- Nico Hoerner, SS
- Jason Heyward, OF
- Patrick Wisdom, 3B
Now that outfielder Seiya Suzuki has the first big league game under his belt, expect the outfielder to build on his one-for-two performance in which he also drew two walks.
Milwaukee Brewers vs Chicago Cubs Predicted Starting Pitchers Rotations
Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers will send Brandon Woodruff to the mound. Woodruff is building on a stellar 2021 campaign that saw the National League All-Star notch a 2.53 ERA. He enters the matchup confident despite rough Spring Training numbers.
Brandon Woodruff is confident he can get off to a good start this season despite his ugly Cactus League numbers: https://t.co/QjFN8Q7G1p
Chicago Cubs
After a solid outing from Opening Day starter Kyle Hendricks, the Cubbies will send Justin Steele to the hill to see if he can hand the team its first series win of the season. Steele is relatively unestablished. However, he managed to strikeout 59 batters in 57 innings his rookie season.
For the Cubs, there is no better way to accelerate a rebuild than a strong start to the season to help fans forget about the departure of stars like Kris Bryant. For the Brewers, a second straight loss may cause unrest for Brewers fans and media who are desperate for the team to make strides toward its first ever World Series title.