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The Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies will kick off the 2015 MLB season at Miller Park on April 6 at 1:10 p.m. CT.
Brewers’ Opening Day lineup:
1. Carlos Gomez, CF
2. Jonathan Lucroy, C
3. Ryan Braun, RF
4. Aramis Ramirez, 3B
5. Adam Lind, 1B
6. Khris Davis, LF
7. Scooter Gennett, 2B
8. Jean Segura, SS
Rockies’ Opening Day lineup:
1. Charlie Blackmon, CF
2. Troy Tulowitzki, SS
3. Carlos Gonzalez, RF
4. Nolan Arenado, 3B
5. Justin Morneau, 1B
6. Corey Dickerson, LF
7. Nick Hundley, C
8. DJ LeMahieu, 2B
Opening Day starting pitchers:
Kyle Lohse, Brewers
Kyle Lohse, who was essentially the unofficial ace of the starting rotation, becomes the official one on Opening Day due to Yovani Gallardo being traded to the Texas Rangers in the offseason. Lohse posted a 13-9 record, 3.54 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 31 starts last season. The Brewers are confident he is the right man to lead the pitching staff due to his incredible composure and veteran experience.
Kyle Kendrick, Rockies
The Rockies’ pitching staff is a major work in progress. The good news is the starting rotation should be better than last year’s disaster. The bad news it is unknown how much better that will be. One way to improve the rotation is to let recently signed free agent Kyle Kendrick take the Opening Day duties. There is plenty of reason for concern considering he owns a dismal 4.42 career ERA, including a 4.61 ERA in 32 starts with the Philadelphia Phillies last season.
Game 2 starting pitchers:
Matt Garza, Brewers
Milwaukee is hoping Matt Garza can take his game up a notch in his second season with the team. Even though he has struggled in spring training, Garza has the necessary stuff to dominate a weak Rockies lineup in the second game of the Opening Day series. In 27 starts last season, he went 8-8 with a 3.64 ERA and 126 strikeouts.
Jordan Lyles, Rockies
Jordan Lyles has been the most consistent starter for Colorado this spring, but unfortunately, he surrendered three runs in 1 1/3 innings of work in his final spring training outing before the regular season. Fans should focus on his production overall, which means he should give a fair outing on Tuesday. Lyles posted a career-high 4.33 ERA in 22 starts in his first season with the Rockies last year.
Game 3 starting pitchers:
Wily Peralta, Brewers
Game 3 of the series features Milwaukee’s Wily Peralta, who many believe is on tap for a career year. In five starts this spring, he went 3-0 with a 3.32 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 19 innings. Considering he posted career numbers across the board in 2014, the hope is a combination of momentum and a stellar spring will result in an All-Star caliber season in 2015.
Eddie Butler, Rockies
Even though the Rockies have not confirmed what their starting rotation is going to look like, the most likely situation is to have Eddie Butler take the mound on Wednesday. Despite playing in just three starts in his first season in the big leagues last year, Butler definitely left Colorado wanting more. At this point, it is his job to lose.
Opening Day series prediction:
With the amount of talent the Brewers have on their roster, it would be shocking to see them drop a single game to the Rockies. This is especially the case due to Colorado having one of the worst rosters in baseball last year and doing little to improve on it in the offseason. I fully expect Milwaukee to sweep their first series of the 2015 season.
Michael Terrill is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelTerrill, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
