Chourio hits RBI single in first home plate appearance. Brewers beat Twins and improve to 4-0
MILWAUKEE – Jackson Chourio singled in a run in his first American Family Field plate appearance, Christian Yelich homered and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins 3-2 on Tuesday to open a season with four straight wins for the first time since 2006.
Chourio stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the third inning after consecutive one-out singles by Rhys Hoskins, Oliver Dunn and Brice Turang. The 20-year-old followed with an RBI single into shallow right field.
“I was just looking to make good contact there and bring in the first run of the game,” Chourio said through an interpreter.
Chourio, who signed an $82 million, eight-year contract in the offseason before making his big league debut, is hitting .375 (6 for 16).
Home after a three-game sweep at the New York Mets, the Brewers never trailed in front of a sellout crowd of 41,659 that saved its biggest cheers for the introduction of Bob Uecker as he began his 54th season of broadcasting Brewers baseball.
Turang went 2 for 3 with an RBI single, improving his batting average to .500 (7 for 14).
Milwaukee is 4-0 for the fourth time after winning its first 13 games in 1987 and its first five in 1978 and 2006.
Yelich hit a 423-foot drive over the center-field wall and Turang added a twoout RBI double in the third as the Brewers boosted the lead to 3-0.
Matt Wallner had a sacrifice fly in the fourth and the Twins closed within a run in the seventh on Christian Vázquez’s sacrifice fly, a run that was unearned because of catcher William Contreras’ fielding error that allowed Willi Castro to reach. Hoby Milner preserved the lead by striking out pinch-hitter Kyle Farmer to strand Manuel Margot at second.
Carlos Correa walked to start the ninth before Margot hit into a double play and Carlos Santana grounded out as Abner Uribe finished a three-hitter for his third save in as many chances.
“With the way that we play sometimes and early in the season, and the way that they play, it’s not surprising to see a good, wellpitched, low-scoring game right there,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “But when we do hit the ball on the barrel, we want to get something out of it. Overall I think we could have had better at-bats.”
Elvis Peguero ( 2- 0) pitched two hitless innings after starter Jakob Junis allowed one run and one hit over four innings in his Brewers debut.
Junis, a 31-year-old righthander, threw just 47 pitches as he adjusts to starting after working primarily out of the bullpen for San Francisco Giants last season. Junis also had been dealing with a minor shoulder issue for part of the spring.
“He came in after the third and said he wasn’t feeling great, but wanted to go back out,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “You could see he didn’t have great extension in that fourth inning. We made the decision then, because it’s about his health.”
Twins starter Louie Varland (0-1) gave up three runs, six hits and two walks in four innings.
Twins: OF Max Kepler started in right field in his first game since fouling a ball off his right knee in Minnesota’s opener.
Brewers: LHP Wade Miley threw 33 pitches Monday and expects to make a rehabilitation appearance Friday for Triple-A Nashville as he works his way back from a shoulder injury.
Brewers RHP Joe Ross makes his first major league appearance since August 2021 and Twins RHP Chris Paddack makes his first start since May 2022 when the two-game series concludes Wednesday afternoon.
The Masters currently has 88 players in the field, with one spot available if the winner of the Valero Texas Open is not already eligible.
If it stays at 88 – a possibility considering the Texas Open field has 30 players already exempt – that would be the same number as 2023. So much for the notion the field is shrinking with LIV players not getting world ranking points.
The concern was only 77 players exempt at the end of last year. But the start of 2024 featured eight players earning spots by winning on the PGA Tour, three of them rookies. Only five players earned Masters invitations by winning early in 2023.
Also, the field currently is evenly split between Americans and international players – 44 each, the same as the previous two Masters.
The inaugural FM Global Championship is the latest LPGA tournament offering a welcome perk to the players – free lodging.
FM Global says the 144 players who compete in the Aug. 29-Sept. 1 tournament at the TPC Boston will have “exclusive access to a first-class property” a short distance from the course in Norton, Massachusetts. FM Global said it would cover all costs.
Golf Digest has confirmed a Spanish golf website report that PGA champion Brooks Koepka and recent LIV Golf addition Tyrrell Hatton have withdrawn their names from qualifying for the Paris Olympics this summer.
Koepka and Hatton both would have been long shots to make their respective U.S. and Great Britain teams because they only have access to world ranking points at the four majors. Olympic qualifying for golf is based on the June 17 world ranking.
Koepka currently is at No. 31, making him 18th among Americans in the world ranking. The top four (provided they are in the top 15) qualify. Hatton currently is behind Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood.
Keita Nakajima, meanwhile, won his first European tour event at the Hero Indian Open and moved into Japan’s second spot behind Hideki Matsuyama.
Nakajima, the former No. 1 amateur in the world, is at No. 78 in the world ranking. Ryo Hisatsune, who is playing in his first Masters next week, is at No. 86, while Rikuya Hoshino is at No. 88.