SPORTS LINE
The Milwaukee Bucks.
On Saturday afternoon, the Milwaukee Bucks lost Game 1 to the Indiana Pacers by a score of 117-98. Despite a strong third quarter, the Bucks were blown out for most of the game. While the Bucks had a tough day, Antetokounmpo put up an outstanding 36 points, 12 rebounds, one assist, one steal, and two blocks while shooting 14/23 from the field in 38 minutes of playing time. The Bucks have gone 20-21 in 41 games away from Wisconsin. Damian Lillard did not return to the Milwaukee Bucks’ lineup for Game 1 of the playoff series against the Indiana Pacers. But he did make his presence felt. He received a technical foul late in the Bucks’ 117-98 loss to the Pacers.
The Bucks’ all-star guard, who remains out as he recovers from a blood clot in his right calf, was issued the technical foul after he left the bench during a timeout as Milwaukee was challenging a call and had words with Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton. Lillard is expected back in the series as soon as this week, after receiving the go-ahead to resume basketball activities with no limitations, the latest development in his remarkable recovery from a deep vein thrombosis diagnosis. The Bucks will need Lillard; they have another shooting performance like they had on April 19. They shot just 12.5% from 3-point range in the first half as they fell behind by 24 points in the loss.
The Milwaukee Brewers.
The team hasn’t received much production from third base to this point. It may be time for them to look for a new answer to the position. Heading into spring training, it was unclear who was going to be the starting third baseman for the 2025 Milwaukee Brewers. With Joey Ortiz sliding over to be the full-time shortstop, there was a hole at the hot corner that needed to be filled quickly. Instead of filling the role externally, the Brewers elected to go with a couple of in-house options. So far this season, they have utilized a platoon of Vinny Capra and Oliver Dunn to handle the third base position.
Both players performed quite well this spring, and the Brewers generally prefer to give opportunities to those already within the organization before making additions from the outside. The problem is; however, we are nearly three weeks into the season, and neither player has seized the opportunity in any way to this point. Third base is supposed to be a position of offensive production and power, and Milwaukee has received anything but that from the two players they’re deploying at the hot corner. The Brewers’ offense has been inconsistent through their first 17 games of the 2025 season, and the production they’ve received, or lack thereof, from their platoon at third base has played a big part in that.
Lefty Oliver Dunn, who gets the start against right-handed pitchers, is slashing .188/.206/.250 on the year in 35 plate appearances. While he does have two doubles and five RBIs, his 26 wRC+ and .456 OPS aren’t going to cut it. Vinny Capra has been his platoon partner, and his numbers have been even more bleak to start the season. In 12 games this year, Capra is 3-for-30 (.100) with a .329 OPS and -8 wRC+. He has yet to walk, and he’s striking out over 31% of the time. He, too, is whiffing at an astronomical rate (35.6%), while making contact with pitches inside the zone just 72.7% of the time (MLB average is 82%). Both Dunn and Capra have been fine defensively, but it wasn’t nearly enough to make up for their lack of production with the bat. While that’s concerning for the outlook of each player, it’s been equally as troublesome for the Brewers’ offense.
The Green Bay Packers.
The stadium up in Green Bay, and the city and surrounding towns are all about to become inundated with hundreds of thousands of fans all showing up next Thursday for the draft. This will be the first time Green Bay has ever been the site for this extremely popular event so look for some real excitement to come out of this wonderful sports venue event.
