(Sports Network) - Kosuke Fukudome's major league debut was a smashing success, although it didn't produce a victory for the Chicago Cubs. Eric Gagne's first game in a Milwaukee Brewers uniform was a forgettable one for the former National League Cy Young award winner, except for his team's end result.

After a day to recuperate from an extra-inning thriller, these two NL Central rivals will go at it again this afternoon at historic Wrigley Field in the second test of a season-opening three-game series.

Gagne failed to protect a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, as the Brewers' new closer served up a game-tying home run to Fukudome after being greeted by a Derrek Lee single and walking Aramis Ramirez. However, Milwaukee rebounded with a run in the top of the 10th to come away with a 4-3 win over the Cubs in Mondays opener.

Tony Gwynn Jr. brought home Craig Counsell, who led off the 10th with a pinch- hit double off Chicago reliever Bob Howry, with a sacrifice fly for the deciding run. David Riske then retired the Cubs in order to preserve Milwaukee's fifth consecutive Opening Day victory.

Fukudome, meanwhile, finished a triple shy of the cycle in his first official big-league game, going 3-for-3 with a walk in four plate appearances. The Japanese outfielder signed a four-year contract with Chicago in December after nine standout seasons with the Chunichi Dragons in his native land.

Both starting pitchers also got their 2008 campaigns off to excellent starts. Ben Sheets yielded just two hits and struck out seven over 6 1/3 shutout innings for Milwaukee, while Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano twirled 6 2/3 scoreless frames before exiting due to a forearm cramp.

Ted Lilly will attempt to duplicate Zambrano's performance when he takes the mound today for Chicago, while the Brewers' Jeff Suppan tries to match Sheets splendid effort.

Lilly delivered a strong first season with the Cubs in 2007 after coming over from Toronto via free agency. The veteran lefty posted a 15-8 record, which tied a career-high for wins, and racked up 174 strikeouts to go along with a solid 3.83 earned run average.

The 32-year-old had mixed results when facing Milwaukee, however. In three starts against the Brewers last year, Lilly went 1-1 but recorded a mediocre 5.29 ERA in those games.

Suppan, who signed with Milwaukee prior to last season after helping St. Louis to the 2006 World Series title, wasn't quite as successful following his switch of teams. The finesse right-hander went 12-12 with a 4.62 ERA in 34 starts, although he closed out the year by going 4-1 in six September starts.

The well-traveled 33-year-old owns a 5-5 record with a 3.13 ERA in 16 lifetime starts against the Cubs and is 3-2 with a 3.42 ERA in eight career outings at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs won nine of their 15 matchups with Milwaukee last season and have taken eight of the last 11 meetings between the clubs.