Dark and gloomy: Cubs optimism fades, just like weather

No judgments should be made after a single day of baseball season, but this one seemed very symbolic for the local squads.

At Wrigley Field, the day began with warm and sunny skies, along with trademark enthusiasm from a Cubs home crowd.

As the giant American flag and a special 150th season logo were unfurled at Wrigley, the White Sox made history up the road in Milwaukee. Chase Meidroth's leadoff home run was the first in team history to start a season.

A few hours later, though, the sun was gone. Wrigley Field was gloomy, rainy and mostly empty by the ninth inning. A harsh wind arrived about an before game-time, blowing in from left field, yet the visiting Washington Nationals somehow managed to hit 3 home runs.

As dusk settled in, Meidroth's leadoff homer meant nothing, since the Sox got crushed 14-2. The Cubs delivered their own dud, a 10-4 loss to Washington, and found themselves in a familiar spot — looking up at the Brewers in the NL Central standings.

“It was great. Obviously, an awesome environment,” third baseman Alex Bregman said after his Cubs debut. “It's a loud, fun place to play. Everything but the wind. Next time, let's get the win.”

This loss means little to the Cubs in the big picture, but it served as a reminder this team is not a sure-fire 90-game winner or automatic NL Central champ. The starting rotation already had concerns before Matthew Boyd imploded in Thursday's fourth inning, while the bullpen is still unproven. Relievers Ben Brown and Jacob Webb combined to give up 4 runs after Boyd left.

“You're going to your bullpen in the fourth inning, some bad things have happened if that's the case,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We had 19 at-bats with runners in scoring position, which if you do that in a game, that's pretty darn good. The next hit was kind of missing, the next big hit. We just never could do that, and hence the result.”

Boyd was really good for 3 innings, piling up 7 strikeouts. He did give up a home run to Joey Wiemer that defied both logic and physics by landing deep in the left-field bleachers, despite flying straight into the wind.

The Cubs led 2-1 heading into the fourth. That's when Boyd faced seven batters, allowing 5 hits and a walk before leaving the mound.

“Felt really good all day,” Boyd said. “The fourth inning, honestly, I just needed to make an adjustment faster and I wasn't able to. That's kind of the story of the game.

“We worked the heater and slider really well the first time through the order. Then there's lots of things to glean from the fourth inning. Unfortunately, that was the difference-maker in the game, but that's on me. I'll be better.”

Besides getting out-homered 3-0, the Cubs offense was OK. First baseman Michael Busch, batting leadoff, went 3-for-4 with 2 doubles. Pete Crow-Armstrong added a pair of hits and 2 RBI. The Cubs also drew 6 walks but finished 4 for 19 with runners in scoring position and never recovered after falling behind 7-2 in the fourth.