MILWAUKEE — We're live near the first base line this morning as the Brew Crew gets ready to face the New York Mets at 1:10 p.m. Monday.

When the Milwaukee Brewers kicked off the season 2023 against the Chicago Cubs, the Brew Crew sent the new guys to get coffee - but forgot to make sure they added two pumps of offense.

Losing game one, it took the crew 16 innings to finally score a run.

Scoring three in the top of the 8th - Milwaukee went on to take game 2 and then went on to take Sunday's match 9 to 5.

VIDEO | We are previewing the snacks...

VIDEO |... and the gear.

The moral of the story is baseball may be working on making the game faster but the season is still very very long.

Christian Yelich wants the fans who freaked out Thursday night to remind themselves of that over the next 6 months.

"It's a long season. The way it starts isn't the way it ends. We've been on both ends of it when we've had bad starts and good finishes and good starts and bad endings. Back in 2021 everyone was acting like the world was ending when we were .500 in May. We went on to win 96 games and run away with the division. It's just a really long year and you can't ride the ups and downs. You just have to be available for your teammates and when you have 26 guys pulling in that direction you can overcome a lot of adversity. So we will see what the story of this team at the end of the year," Yelich said.

Unrelated, due to rain in the forecast Monday, the roof at American Family Field will be closed.

Brewers Home Opener details released, including free Chick-fil-A sandwiches for fans

By Madison Goldbeck

In celebration, fans wearing Brewers gear on Monday can get a free chicken sandwich at select Chick-fil-A locations in Southeast Wisconsin from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The deal is one sandwich per person. Participating locations include Pleasant Prairie, Racine, Drexel Town Square, Greendale, Glendale, West Allis, 124th and Capitol, Brookfield Square, Pewaukee, Delafield and Menomonee Falls.

The Rufus King High School and the Milwaukee Hittaz will be the Opening Day drumline for the Brewers. There will also be a pre-game flyover by the World Famous B-1 Bomber from the 28th Bomb Wing out of Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.

The ceremonial first pitch will be thrown by Miss America 2023, Grace Stanke of Wisconsin. She is a Wausau native and the third Miss Wisconsin to win the national title.

The new restaurant and brewery J. Leinenkugel's Barrel Yard will also open on Monday. Fans can get a commemorative Opening Day aluminum cup when buying a beverage.

The Crew will host New York for a three-game series April 3 through April 5, as well as a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals April 7-9. Limited tickets are still available on the Brewers website, at the American Family Field Box Office, or by calling 1-800-933-7890.

Pre-paid parking passes can be purchased with game tickets and will be delivered digitally. Fans are encouraged to purchase passes in advance. Parking lots will open at 10:10 a.m. on Opening Day and ballpark gates will open at 11:10 a.m.

New major league baseball rules, explained

By Julia Marshall, Associated Press

In an effort to speed up the game, and make it more enjoyable for fans, the MLB has implemented four new rules that took effect during Spring Training. Those rules entail a pitch clock, bigger bases, infield shift limits, and a limit on pitcher disengagements.

The Pitch Clock

First and foremost, there's the new pitch clock. According to the Associated Press, players will have 30 seconds to resume play between batters. Pitchers will have 15 seconds with nobody on and 20 seconds if there's a base runner.

The pitcher must start his delivery before the clock runs out. The clock restarts once the pitcher has the ball back after a pitch.

Batters must be in the box and alert the pitcher they're ready with at least eight seconds left on the clock. They can call time once per at-bat, which stops the countdown.

The clocks are placed behind home plate, and in the outfield, so pitchers and batters can see them clearly.

Pitcher disengagement limits

New this season, pitchers will only be able to disengage from the plate twice per appearance. They can only disengage to call a timeout or attempt a pickoff throw.

If a pitcher has used his two disengagements, he can still attempt a pickoff throw but it has to be successful. If the baserunner gets back safely, a balk is assessed and the runner advances, the Associated Press reported.

If a runner advances during a plate appearance, the disengagement limit is rest. Mound visits, injury timeouts, and offensive team timeouts are not considered disengagements.

Infield Shift Limits

Putting three or more infielders on one side of the second base has become a regular occurrence in recent seasons, but the AP said many believe it contributed to plummeting batting averages.

To combat those averages, the MLB has a new rule that states all four infielders must have both feet within the outer boundary of the infield, and two infielders must be on each side of second base when a pitch is delivered.

Players will not be allowed to run from one side of second base to the other after a pitch.

Bigger bases

The bases on an MLB field are now three square inches larger than they used to be, up to 18 square inches. The MLB implemented the change in an effort to improve player safety and encourage more stolen-base attempts.

The space between plates has also been adjusted, with the first and third bases three inches closer to home, and 4.5 inches closer to second base.

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