Milwaukee Brewers vs. Minnesota Twins live game updates for 2024 home opener today: Time, starting pitcher, weather, parking, record
The Milwaukee Brewers will kick off the home portion of their 2024 season on Tuesday with a head of steam, having won all three games in New York over the weekend to open the year 3-0.
It's the first time the franchise has opened 3-0 since 2018, which was a pretty great season that ended in the seventh game of the National League Championship Series. Those three games were won on the road, as well (in San Diego). The Brewers haven't opened the season 4-0 since starting 5-0 in 2006. We ... won't revisit how that year ended.
Keep up-to-date with our live blog for the Brewers' home opener against the Minnesota Twins. Here's what to know:
What time is the Brewers game today?
First pitch for the Brewers' 2024 home opener against the Minnesota Twins is 3:10 p.m.
More: What channel is Brewers vs Twins home opener game on today? Time, TV, streaming, radio
Who's the Brewers' starting pitcher today vs the Twins?
The Brewers will send Jakob Junis to the mound for the opening-day start, battling against Minnesota's right-handed starter, Louis Varland. If that name sounds familiar, it should; Varland's brother, Gus, made the Brewers opening-day roster last year. He only appeared in eight games, however, and when the team sent him back down to the minors, the Brewers had to offer him back to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of the "Rule 5" draft process, so he's back with the Dodgers and already has a big-league appearance in 2024.
Who is Jakob Junis, the Brewers' starting pitcher today?
Oh, yes, the Brewers starter you'll see is brand-new.
Junis spent the past two seasons with the San Francisco Giants after the first five years of his career were spent in Kansas City. He's got a career 4.64 ERA with a 38-45 record and a WHIP of 1.336. That's not going to blow you away, but the Brewers really like Junis' slider/sinker combination and think they can get more out of it. Last year, he only made four starts — he made 17 the year before — and was pretty effective in relief, with a 3.87 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 86 innings.
Junis signed with the Brewers in February.
Brewers stadium, parking: What's new at American Family Field?
Aside from the new manager (Pat Murphy), new rookie sensation in the outfield (Jackson Chourio), new first baseman (Rhys Hoskins) and several other new players, there have been some tweaks to the fan experience. The TL;DR version:
The big center-field scoreboard is bigger, and it has now given birth to a baby scoreboard in right field.
The food options are a little different, but the biggest difference is the 3rd Street Market Hall Annex that will bring some cool options to the right-field corner on the Loge Level.
There's a whole new parking system, and you'll need to familiarize yourself with the details before you use the lot. Yes, there will be parking staff on hand to help you Tuesday if you get stuck.
The team store in the left field corner on the Field Level is bigger.
Milwaukee weather today: What's the forecast for tailgating at the Brewers game?
Kind of gross, to be honest. There's some snow in the forecast.
Good thing American Family Field has a roof, unlike literally every other American MLB stadium in a climate where snow in April is on the table. We might make a concession here for Seattle, which does have a roof, but that city doesn't get as much snow as you might think.
There's a roof hotline if you want to check the roof status in advance (414-902-4636), but you know where this is headed, don't you?
When do parking lots open for the Brewers game today?
The parking lots will open for today's game at 12:10 p.m., a full three hours before first pitch.
Gates to the ballpark will open an hour later at 1:10 p.m.
The staff, coaches and players will all be introduced starting around 2:46 p.m. The national anthem is scheduled for roughly 2:57 p.m. (it's the Milwaukee Symphony string quartet doing the honors).
The ceremonial first pitch will take place around 3:03 p.m. Three superfans (Evan Rennicke, Malakai Kaisermann and Brandon Krueger) who just came back from a surprise trip to Brewers spring training will do the honors. They've all battled serious health problems with the help of Aurora Health Care.
Johnsonville Famous Racing Sausages are part of Brewers game day experience
The Johnsonville Famous Racing Sausages will do their thing like always in the middle of the sixth inning.
The Brewers have a 3-0 record. So, they're going to be good, right?
Let's not get too excited about the teeny sample, but it sure beats the alternative. The other undefeated teams thus far (heading into Monday, anyway): the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers.
You can feel good that Chourio didn't look the least bit overmatched in his first big-league experience, the Brewers threw a one-hitter on opening day, and Hoskins had an adventurous first day in a new uniform.
Check out these cool stories and photos from past home openers
Check out photos from nearly every Brewers home opener.
With the weather looking iffy today, just be glad it's not like 1973 when snow ruined the entire occasion. Weather also played a role (but not the only role) in the franchise's smallest-ever opening day crowd (non-COVID edition).
In 1966, some fans came to opening day even though there was no baseball; it was the first year after the Braves had left town for Atlanta and Milwaukee was without an MLB franchise.
How about the last opening day at Borchert Field, the hometown venue before County Stadium?
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers home opener live game updates vs Twins: Time, parking, lineup
