Brewers rout White Sox 14-2 on Opening Day as Misiorowski strikes out 11 in five innings
Milwaukee opens 2026 with a lopsided win at American Family Field
The Milwaukee Brewers opened their 2026 regular season Thursday, March 26, with a 14-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox at American Family Field, using a decisive second inning and a strikeout-heavy pitching performance to take the first game of the three-game set.
Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski earned the win in his season debut, working five innings while allowing one run on two hits, issuing three walks and striking out 11. The Brewers’ staff finished with 20 strikeouts in the nine-inning game, a total that matches the Major League record for strikeouts by a team’s pitchers in a regulation-length game.
Early swing by Chicago, immediate response by Milwaukee
Chicago scored first in the top of the first inning when Chase Meidroth hit a leadoff home run, briefly giving the White Sox a 1-0 lead. Milwaukee answered in the bottom of the second with a four-run inning against starter Shane Smith.
The Brewers tied the game on a Joey Ortiz RBI single, then took control when William Contreras cleared the bases with a three-run double. That inning established the game’s direction, as Milwaukee continued to add runs in four consecutive frames after Chicago’s early advantage.
Milwaukee’s offense builds separation inning by inning
Ortiz drove in another run with an RBI single in the fourth, and Christian Yelich followed later in the inning with an RBI single. In the fifth, Sal Frelick hit a two-run home run to extend the lead, and Milwaukee kept pressure on Chicago’s bullpen in the sixth with three more runs, including two bases-loaded walks that forced in runs.
The Brewers’ biggest late blow came in the seventh, when Jake Bauers hit a three-run home run to push the margin to 14-1.
- Final score: Brewers 14, White Sox 2
- Milwaukee: 12 hits, 0 errors
- Chicago: 4 hits, 1 error
White Sox limited at the plate despite a late home run
After Meidroth’s first-inning homer, Chicago generated few sustained scoring opportunities. The White Sox loaded the bases in the eighth inning but failed to score. Their second run came on a solo home run in the ninth by Munetaka Murakami, who homered in his Major League debut.
Milwaukee’s pitchers struck out 20 Chicago hitters over nine innings, with Misiorowski accounting for 11 of those strikeouts in five frames.
What’s next
The clubs continue the opening series in Milwaukee with games scheduled for March 28 and March 29.