PHOENIX -- So much for easing into Spring Training. The Brewers open Cactus League play on Thursday with split-squad games at Maryvale Baseball Park against the Cubs and on the road against the Giants. For manager Craig Counsell, it's an all-hands-on-deck kind of day.
"There's going to be players playing nine innings," Counsell said.
Nine innings on Day 1?
"It is a baseball game," Counsell said.
Counsell will manage the Maryvale game against the Cubs, with Chase Anderson scheduled to start in his unofficial Brewers debut against a Chicago lineup featuring Kyle Schwarber, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Jorge Soler, Miguel Montero and Javier Baez.