In the midst of their unexpected and exciting 2017 playoff race, the Brewers on Tuesday announced their regular-season schedule for next year, beginning on March 29 at San Diego. It will be the first time Milwaukee has started the season on the road since 2011.
The highlight of the schedule release, though, is the rivalry-heavy opening homestand against NL Central foes – and current divisional postseason-chase contenders – St. Louis and Chicago.
After the three-game series (March 29-31) against the Padres, whom the Brewers have never faced to begin a season, Milwaukee will have an off day on April 1. Then, the Brewers’ 2018 home opener at Miller Park, always an unofficial holiday in Brew City, will take place Monday, April 2 vs. the Cardinals at 1:10 p.m. CT. The opening homestand features that three-game set (April 2-4), followed by a four-game series against the Cubs (April 5-8).
For interleague play, Milwaukee will face each team in the American League Central Division, including home-and-away series with Cleveland, Kansas City and Minnesota. The first interleague series will take place against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium for a two-game set April 24-25; the Brewers will play Kansas City at Miller Park from June 26-27. Milwaukee will host the 2016 American League-champion Indians from May 8-9, then travel to Cleveland from June 5-6. The annual border battles against the Twins are scheduled for May 18-20 at Target Field and July 2-4 at Miller Park. Additional interleague games will be played on the road against the Chicago White Sox (June 1-3) and at home vs. the Detroit Tigers (Sept. 28-30), which closes out the regular season.
The Brewers’ longest homestand in 2018 is a 10-game stretch against the Diamondbacks (May 21-23), Mets (May 24-27) and Cardinals (May 28-30). Their longest road trip of the season is a 10-game, 11-day excursion to Colorado (May 10-13), Arizona (May 14-16) and Minnesota (May 18-20).
Milwaukee will be at home on Father’s Day (June 17 vs. the Phillies), and Miller Park will host a Fourth of July afternoon game against the Twins at 3:10 p.m. The Brewers also will play at home in a Labor Day matinee matchup against the Cubs on Sept. 3.
For the most part, weekday night games at Miller Park will start at 7:10 p.m. (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evening games in April, May and Sept. 17-19 will begin at 6:40 p.m.) The majority of Saturday home games will begin at 6:10 p.m. (May 26, June 16, June 23 and July 7 are TBD). Sunday home games are scheduled to start at 1:10 p.m. (with the exception of Sept. 30 vs. Detroit, which begins at 2:10 p.m.). Most weekday day games will begin at 1:10 p.m. All game dates and times are subject to change, and road game times will be announced at a later date.
Click here to see the Brewers’ 2018 calendar schedule.
Promotional giveaway dates (the full schedule with details will be announced later) includes the following:
Friday, April 20: First 20,000 fans
Sunday, April 22: All-Fan Giveaway
Sunday, May 6: First 20,000 fans
Friday, May 25: First 20,000 fans
Sunday, May 27: All-Fan Giveaway
Sunday, June 17: First 20,000 fans
Friday, June 22: First 20,000 fans
Sunday, June 24: All-Fan Giveaway
Sunday, July 8: All-Fan Giveaway
Friday, July 20: First 20,000 fans
Sunday, July 22: First 20,000 fans
Sunday, August 5: All-Fan Giveaway
Friday, August 24: First 20,000 fans
Sunday, August 26: All-Fan Giveaway
Sunday, September 9: All-Kids Giveaway
Sunday, September 16: First 20,000 fans
Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.
After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.
Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.
