Brewers fall to Cubs, but Christian Yelich homers in spring debut

Game report

Cubs 4, Brewers 1

Christian Yelich is typically the final healthy player on the Milwaukee Brewers to debut in spring. He made it worth the wait on March 4.

Yelich’s Cactus League debut was a smashing success, as the Brewers designated hitter went 2 for 2 with a home run and a walk before departing in the sixth inning.

BOX SCORE: Cubs 4, Brewers 1

That was all the scoring the Brewers would muster up against the Chicago Cubs, though, in a 4-1 loss in which Brandon Sproat and Logan Henderson both went three innings.

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich (22) runs the bases in a drill during spring training workouts Monday, February 16, 2026, at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona.

Yelich’s homer left the bat at 106.8 mph and his sixth-inning single was ripped through the right side at 101.6 mph.

The 34-year-old was using his old leg kick swing, which he has largely gone away with since early in the 2023 season.

“Nice to be back out there,” Yelich said. “Really the goal is to just see where you’re at. I usually play a little later in camp because I like working on stuff, trying to get a good base that way and then go test it out in a game. See if you like it, get some feedback after.”

Brandon Sproat’s stuff pops

Sproat made his second appearance this spring and flashed tantalizing pure stuff once again across three innings of work. He topped out at 98.8 mph with his sinker and averaged 96.4 mph with the pitch, using it heavily at the top of his six-pitch mix.

A couple of poorly-located pitches – one curveball and one cutter – led to the damage against Sproat, who said he’s still working to find the right “start lanes” for both pitches as they each have a shape this year that’s new.

Henderson allowed two runs (one earned) over three innings, striking out one and walking none.

Quotable

“I haven’t been fully asleep.” Murphy on his dugout demeanor during games

Prospect watch

With Joey Ortiz and Brice Turang at the World Baseball Classic, there will be plenty of opportunities for Cooper Pratt and Jesús Made, who started up the middle against the Cubs. Made singled in a 1 for 3 day while Pratt was 0 for 3.

Luis Lara also started in right field and went 0 for 2 with a walk.