Milwaukee Brewers: Carlos Gómez, Nyjer Morgan among 4 alumni throwing NLDS first pitches

The Milwaukee Brewers will have four former players on the mound before the first two games of the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres at American Family Field. The team announced Thursday that Carlos Gómez and Teddy Higuera will throw ceremonial first pitches before Game 1, and Nyjer Morgan and Eric Thames will throw them before Game 2.

First pitch for Game 1 is at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. Game 2 starts at 3 p.m. CT Sunday.

The Padres reached Milwaukee by sweeping the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card Series. They won 8-0 on Tuesday and 4-1 on Wednesday at Petco Park.

San Diego won four of the six regular-season meetings, sweeping a three-game series at Petco Park in August. Saturday will be the first postseason meeting between the clubs.

Milwaukee finished with the best record in the majors. MLB.com reported that Jacob Misiorowski will start Game 1.

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Former Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Carlos Gómez smiles and points toward the crowd while holding a bat in a light blue Brew Crew jersey. The Brewers held the Alumni Home Run Derby on July 25, 2025, as part of their celebration of 25 seasons at American Family Field, with Gómez and Ryan Braun serving as team captains. (Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

The team’s release lists Gómez as a two-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner who spent six seasons in Milwaukee, and Higuera as an All-Star left-hander.

Gómez scored the run that ended the 2011 NLDS. He singled with one out in the 10th inning of Game 5 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, stole second and came home on Morgan’s single for a 3-2 win that sent Milwaukee to the NLCS.

Manager Pat Murphy and the team will be welcomed onto the field 30 minutes before first pitch Saturday for a postseason chalk lineup.

Jenny Thiel will sing the national anthem. Valkyrie, a bald eagle from Schlitz Audubon, will accompany her, and Brewers Season Seat Members will hold a giant American flag unfurled across the outfield.

The Play Ball Kid is Sadie Megill, the 3-year-old daughter of reliever Trevor Megill.

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Former Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Nyjer Morgan winds up with a yellow rally towel in his glove hand as he throws out the ceremonial first pitch. Morgan, whose walk-off single beat Arizona in Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS, threw the pitch on Oct. 4, 2023, before the Diamondbacks won 5-2 to eliminate the Brewers. (Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Morgan has been back for October before. He threw out the first pitch before Game 1 of the 2018 NLDS against the Colorado Rockies at Miller Park, MLB.com’s Joe Trezza reported. He returned for Game 2 of the 2023 Wild Card Series against Arizona, TMJ4 reported.

Thames signed with Milwaukee in November 2016 after three seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization. He hit 72 home runs and drove in 161 runs for the Brewers from 2017 to 2019. Thirty-one of those homers came in 2017.

In the 2019 NL Wild Card Game, Thames homered in Milwaukee’s 4-3 loss to the Washington Nationals.

Musician Third Class Robert “Bobby” Novoa of the Great Lakes Navy Band will sing the anthem Sunday. Lennox Anderson, the 2-year-old son of pitcher Grant Anderson, is the Play Ball Kid.

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Sep 6, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers celebrates with teammates after hitting a two-run home run against the Cincinnati Reds in the fourth inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Parking lots open 3½ hours before first pitch, and gates open 2½ hours before. The team advised fans to buy parking in advance because day-of-game parking will be limited.

Fans at both games will receive a Brewers rally towel.

FOX has exclusive live coverage of the NL Division Series. WTMJ Radio and the Brewers Radio Network will carry the games on radio.

The Brewers said a very limited number of tickets remain for Games 1 and 2 and for a potential Game 5 on Friday, Oct. 9.
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