By Jim Owczarski Sports Editor Published Apr 06, 2015 at 11:03 AM Photography: David Bernacchi

It's Opening Day, and Miller Park is bustling as the Milwaukee Brewers host the Colorado Rockies today at 1:10 p.m. Get to know and interact with the team here!

Regular lineup

Jonathan Lucroy
Position: catcher
Stat: Led the league in doubles with 53 last season.l
Need to know: Attended the State of the Union address in January.
Interact: @JLucroy20 

Adam Lind
Position: first base
Stat: Set a Toronto Blue Jays Opening Day record by driving in six runs against Detroit in 2009.
Need to know: He wanted to be a groundskeeper, or a golf course superintendent.

Scooter Gennett
Position: second base
Stat: Hit .103 in 42 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers in 2014.
Need to know: Hank The Dog melted his heart …

Interact: @Sgennett2 

Jean Segura
Position: shortstop
Stat: Has hit .249 since July 1, 2013 (213 games).
Need to know: No matter what anybody says, he stole first base in 2013.
Interact: elmambodesegura 

Aramis Ramirez
Position: third base
Stat: Hit four home runs after July 1 last year (75 games, 299 plate appearances).
Need to know: Teammate Luis Sardinas turned five years old 10 days before Ramirez made his major league debut in 1998.

Khris Davis
Position: left field
Stat: Hit 17 points higher away from Miller Park last year (.252 to .235).
Need to know: His father, Rodney, is a major league scout and played

Carlos Gomez
Position: center fielder
Stat: He hit for the same average last year as he did in 2013 (.284), drove in the same number of runs (73) and hit just one fewer homer (23 instead of 24).
Need to know: Just turned 29 in December, and has been a professional since he was 16.
Interact: @C-Gomez27 and c_gomez27  

Ryan Braun
Position: right fielder
Stat: Is in the final year of his first contract extension, so once again he is not the highest paid player on the team (Ramirez is at $14 million).
Need to know: Is a father now, with his daughter being born in early Sept. of last year.

Starting pitchers

Kyle Lohse
Stat: Has a 3.45 earned run average over 63 starts as a Brewer.
Need to know: Will be the first Brewers pitcher other than Yovani Gallardo to start Opening Day since 2009.
Interact: @KyleLohse26 

Matt Garza
Stat: Hasn’t made 30 starts in a year since 2011.
Need to know: Threw the first no-hitter in Tampa Bay history against Detroit in 2010.
Interact: @Gdeuceswild 

Wily Peralta
Stat: Giancarlo Stanton has never gotten a hit off of the right-hander.
Need to know: First began playing catch in the Dominican Republic with a cardboard glove.
Interact: @WilyPeralta38 

Mike Fiers
Stat: In 35 career starts, has a 3.70 ERA and a 15-17 record.
Need to know: Allowed just one earned run against St. Louis in the start immediately following the beaning of Giancarlo Stanton.
Interact: @Fiers64 

Jimmy Nelson
Stat: Opponents hit .222 off him in the first and second innings but hit .297 in innings three through six.
Need to know: Will Smith isn’t the only pitcher who had a famous counterpart. Jimmy Nelson is ventriloquist who created Farfel the dog and starred in commercials in the 1950s and 60s.
Interact: @Jimmy_J_Nelson 

Relievers

Neal Cotts
Stat: Posted a 1.11 ERA over 58 appearances in 2013 for Texas.
Need to know: Has overcome not only Tommy John, but a tear in a muscle in his hip, and an infection in that area.
Interact: @NealJames56 

Jeremy Jeffress
Stat: In 29 games with the Brewers last year, he posted a 1.88 ERA.
Need to know: Was part of the trade that brought Zack Greinke to the Brewers.
Interact: @JMontana41

Tyler Thornburg
Stat: Prior to his final outing of 2014, which led to his season ending due to injury, posted a 2.83 ERA over 26 games.
Need to know: Was the 2013 Nashville Sounds Opening Day starter.
Interact: @TylerThornburg 

Will Smith
Stat: Made a career-high 78 major league appearances last year.
Need to know: He is an incredibly good sport …

Interact: @White_Willy31 

Brandon Kintzler
Stat: Lefties hit .250 off him the right-hander.
Need to know: Has enjoyed Summerfest and local sushi restaurants.

Michael Blazek
Stat: Appeared in seven games for the Brewers last season, pitching in seven innings.
Need to know: Was part of the deal that sent former closer John Axford to St. Louis.
Interact: @MichaelBlazek34

Jonathan Broxton
Stat: Appeared in 11 games with Milwaukee. Posted a 1.86 ERA in 51 games for Cincinnati prior to.
Need to know: Albert Pujols was his first major league strikeout.

Francisco Rodriguez
Stat: Two more saves will give him 350 for his career.
Need to know: He enjoys Milwaukee...

Key bench players


Gerardo Parra
Position: outfield
Stat: His batting average and on base percentage has declined each year since 2011.

Need to know: He practices with this tiny glove to train his eyes while shagging flies.
Interact: @88_gparra 

Martin Maldonado
Position: catcher
Stat: Bounced back at the plate, hitting .234 after a .169 campaign in 2013.
Need to know: He did this to a baseball just over a year ago …

Interact: @Machete1224 

Hector Gomez
Stat: Appeared in 15 games for the Brewers in 2014, his first major league action since playing in two games for Colorado in 2011.
Need to know: Expected to back up at second base, shortstop and third base. 

Jim Owczarski is an award-winning sports journalist and comes to Milwaukee by way of the Chicago Sun-Times Media Network.

A three-year Wisconsin resident who has considered Milwaukee a second home for the better part of seven years, he brings to the market experience covering nearly all major and college sports.

To this point in his career, he has been awarded six national Associated Press Sports Editors awards for investigative reporting, feature writing, breaking news and projects. He is also a four-time nominee for the prestigious Peter J. Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism, presented by the Chicago Headline Club, and is a two-time winner for Best Sports Story. He has also won numerous other Illinois Press Association, Illinois Associated Press and Northern Illinois Newspaper Association awards.

Jim's career started in earnest as a North Central College (Naperville, Ill.) senior in 2002 when he received a Richter Fellowship to cover the Chicago White Sox in spring training. He was hired by the Naperville Sun in 2003 and moved on to the Aurora Beacon News in 2007 before joining OnMilwaukee.com.

In that time, he has covered the events, news and personalities that make up the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, NCAA football, baseball and men's and women's basketball as well as boxing, mixed martial arts and various U.S. Olympic teams.

Golf aficionados who venture into Illinois have also read Jim in GOLF Chicago Magazine as well as the Chicago District Golfer and Illinois Golfer magazines.