Opening Day is always met with joyful optimism, even by those whose teams figure to be staring down a last-place finish by the time it’s all said and done. Thursday brought a special twist as fans were allowed back in MLB ballparks for the first time since 2019, at least when it comes to regular season games. The Cubs were facing one of those hapless teams, so everyone at Wrigley or watching from afar had all the more reason to be excited.
Then the game started.
Kyle Hendricks walked leadoff batter Adam Frazier and gave up a two-run homer to Ke’Bryan Hayes, putting the Cubs in an 0-2 hole just 10 pitches into the game.