Opening Day at Yankee Stadium always delivers added pageantry, and the home team is hoping for a ninth-inning opportunity to call upon closer Devin Williams and his ※Airbender§ -- an offering that figures to be very familiar to everyone in the visiting dugout.
A two-time National League Reliever of the Year and two-time NL All-Star, Williams was traded to the Yankees this past December by the Brewers, who acquired pitcher Nestor Cortes and infielder Caleb Durbin in the swap.
※I＊m sure it＊s going to be an electric atmosphere, which I love,§ Williams said. ※I＊m really looking forward to it. There＊s only so many people that have ever gotten to put this jersey on, and I＊m glad to be one of them.§
Cortes will also get to face his former team in the second game of the series, but up first is Freddy Peralta, who, with Christian Yelich and Brandon Woodruff, are the only Brewers who have played for all six of Milwaukee's postseason-qualifying teams in the past seven years.
With first pitch scheduled for 3:05 p.m. ET/2:05 p.m. CT on March 27, let's take a closer look at the pitching matchup for the season opener.
Brewers: RHP Freddy Peralta
Previous Opening Days starts: 1
2024 season: 11-9, 3.68 ERA in 32 starts
Peralta, who beat the Mets in his first career Opening Day assignment last season, will face a different New York team this time. The 28-year-old provided stability in a season where the Brewers set a club record by employing 17 different starting pitchers. He also set a career-high for innings and reached the 200-strikeout milestone for the second straight year.
"It's been a great journey," Peralta said. "I love what's happening in my career right now."
Few players can tell a career story as compelling as Peralta, who was 21 in May 2018 -- still learning English, still wearing braces -- when he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and set a Brewers rookie record with 13 strikeouts in an emergency spot start against the Rockies at Coors Field, the most strikeouts in a Major League debut since Stephen Strasburg eight years earlier. In the years since, Peralta has expanded his fastball-heavy arsenal, signed a lengthy contract extension (he has one more club option for 2026) and climbed the depth chart to become a multi-time Opening Day starter.
Yankees: LHP Carlos Rodón
Previous Opening Day starts: 1
2024 season: 16-9, 3.96 ERA in 32 starts
Rod車n steps in as the Yanks＊ Opening Day starter following a season-ending injury to Gerrit Cole. Rod車n is entering the third year of a six-year, $162 million contract with the Bombers, coming off a 2024 campaign in which he established career highs in wins (16) and starts (32).
His strikeouts and innings pitched marked the second-highest totals of his career, trailing only his 237 strikeouts and 178 innings for the Giants in 2022. Rod車n credits improvements to his pitch selection, including a changeup that has developed into a legitimate weapon.
※Some ups and downs,§ Rod車n said. ※You just had to change up the mix a little bit and rely on some offspeed and have a little more pitchability.§