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Semrau: Brewers overcome late meltdown to tip Cubs in opener

Dennis Semrau  —  4/01/2008 8:58 am

CHICAGO -- It was a historic day at Wrigley Field Monday, beginning with a mid-morning ceremony that honored "Mr. Cub" Ernie Banks and ending with a late-afternoon unveiling of a future Cub star in Japan transplant Kosuke Fukudome.

But instead of letting the host Chicago Cubs steal all of their thunder the Milwaukee Brewers got the last laugh, pulling out an exciting 4-3 victory on Opening Day that could bode well for their pennant hopes.

The end result could have been just another road game gone awry, a typical Brewers meltdown that snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Or so it appeared to be when Milwaukee's newly anointed closer, Eric Gagne, served up a three-run homer to Fukudome on a silver platter in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Yet it appears the Brewers, who were 32-49 away from Miller Park in 2007, might be a bit more resilient this season.

"It's just a big game to win. It's one of those games we had to make sure we came back," said pinch hitter Craig Counsell, whose lead-off double in the 10th ignited the game-winning rally. "It was one of those games where it is a disappointing game if you lose it."

Tony Gwynn's sacrifice fly scored Counsell with the eventual game-winner in the 10th inning on a day that any respectable duck would not have ventured out in.

While Miller Park sat idle 90 miles to the north, the Brewers and Cubs endured two rain delays totaling 90 minutes and field conditions better suited to rugby or mud wrestling, at best

So it was up to players like Tony Gwynn, making his first season-opening start in center field, to focus on what needed to get done. The perfect understudy for suspended starting center fielder Mike Cameron -- who is sidelined for the first 25 games of the season -- Gwynn gave Yost everything he wanted.

That included stealing a base and driving in the winning run.

Gwynn also displayed his usual flair for defense, hauling in a pair of long fly balls from Mark DeRosa before snaring the final out on a somewhat appropriate sliding and splashing catch.

"It's early but a game against the Cubbies like that is a confidence-booster going into the season. I'm hoping we can keep that momentum rolling," Gwynn said.

Yost had an explanation for why there is an expectancy that his club will do well this season and hopefully end the franchise's 26-year playoff drought.

"It's a different team. They're a little more experienced and they can handle pressure," Yost said. "They've been through pressure situations all year last year. They understand what it's about. They showed today they are able to come back."

Milwaukee received another stellar Opening Day performance from ace Ben Sheets -- who hasn't had a problem starting most seasons, just finishing them. Sheets, whose five career wins at Wrigley are the most at any visiting ballpark, is 3-0 in six Opening Day assignments.

While he drew a no-decision despite allowing just two hits and two walks in 6 1/3 innings pitched on Monday, Sheets obviously elevated his performance after a 49-minute rain delay in the bottom of the third inning.

That extra effort particularly impressed his teammates.

"We noticed it right away. His fastball, he seemed to add a little bit to it after the rain delay," Counsell said. "He threw strikes more than anything. Today, he pounded the strike zone. They were behind in the count all day it seemed like. That's Ben Sheets when he's really good. He pounds the strikes and is working fast and he mixes it up with his fastball and breaking ball."

Sheets entered the season with some ugly spring training stats. He gave up five home runs in 16 innings and had an ERA of 9.56.

"I was really good at getting the ball back from the umpire," cracked Sheets during a press conference on Saturday at Miller Park.

Yet while his sense of humor was in mid-season form, the club had to wait a few more days for his pitching to catch up.

"He was impressive but you could say that about both pitchers," Yost said. "The way that the weather looked, we just weren't sure what was going to happen. Both were on top of their games and made it very, very difficult. In the seventh inning, we had three hits and they had two which shows how good they were and how tough the conditions were."

Although Chicago starter Carlos Zambrano remained winless in his fourth Opening Day assignment, he matched Sheets pitch for pitch until he had to leave with what the Cubs said was a right forearm cramp in the seventh inning.

After the long rain delay, Sheets nearly didn't reappear for the rest of the third inning, Yost said.

"I was going to think strongly about it at an hour because there is no real cage here where he can play catch or get loose," Yost said. "He had heat packs on and went out and played catch a couple of times to stay loose. At the hour mark, I'd have to seriously look at (taking him out of the game). But we never got there. He felt good and I trust my pitchers."

That was fine with Sheets, who admitted he felt "a lot stronger" after the break.

"I located the ball and me and (catcher Jason) Kendall were on the same page from the get-go," Sheets said. "I shook him off maybe two or three times. Probably every time I shook him off I wish I wouldn't have. He called quality pitches."

Gwynn laid down a two-strike bunt in the ninth inning, while Ryan Braun singled in a run and Corey Hart doubled home two more to give Gagne a three-run lead.

Last year, Milwaukee held the lead and lost it 41 times. For a while, it appeared Gagne would start the meter rolling again, allowing three runs without recording an out in the bottom of the ninth. But he was able to escape further damage, and then offseason acquisition David Riske pitched a perfect 10th inning to earn the save.

"It's always good for a win no matter what the win is like. As new guys on the team, you always want to show what you have, especially the first game of the year at Wrigley Field," Riske said.

While he was also making his first Opening Day start, new Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun perfectly summed up the importance of not letting Monday's victory slip away.

"It's huge. All the games in September are magnified, and those are the games that people pay attention to," he said. "But a win then is no different from a win now, so it's huge to come back.

"Last year, we would have lost a game like this a lot of times. Obviously it was disappointing when they came back like that but it was about staying together, staying tough and being confident we could come out of it with a win and we did."

Dennis Semrau  —  4/01/2008 8:58 am