How many Milwaukee Brewers opening day starting pitchers can you name?

For the first time in Milwaukee Brewers history, a previous Cy Young Award winner will take the ball for an opening day start, with Corbin Burnes taking on the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.

Milwaukee's previous two Cy Young winners include Rollie Fingers, the 1981 American League winner who wasn't a starter, and 1982 winner Pete Vuckovich, who was hampered by a rotator cuff injury and pitched sparingly in the years thereafter.

How many opening day starting pitchers can you name over the course of Brewers history? Burnes will mark the 33rd.

More: Opening day: The 12 most memorable season openers in Milwaukee Brewers history

Lew Krausse (1970)

Nobody at County Stadium truly cared that Krausse gave up four earned runs in three innings and the Brewers got bombed by the California Angels, 12-0. Baseball was back in Milwaukee after a four-year absence, after all. Krausse won 13 games in his first of two seasons with the Brewers.

Marty Pattin (1971)

Technically, Pattin is the organization's first opening day starter, working for the Seattle Pilots to open the 1969 season before the expansion franchise relocated. He won both his opening day starts as a Pilot and a Brewer, with a 7-2 complete-game victory over the Minnesota Twins in the latter. He finished the year with a respectable 3.13 ERA, made the all-star team that year and was dealt in the offseason as part of the blockbuster trade that brought George Scott to the Brewers.

Bill Parsons (1972)

Parsons won the Sporting News rookie of the year honor in 1971 and was runner-up for the Associated Press award; he started his sophomore campaign with six innings in a 5-1 win over Cleveland. His numbers were comparable in 1972, but the 6-foot-6 right-hander seemed to fall off the map after that, out of baseball after the 1974 season.

Jim Colborn (1973-74)

Depending on how you view the Pilots season, he's the Brewers' first two-time opening day starter, taking the loss in a 10-0 blowout against the Orioles in 1973 and a no decision in a 9-8 loss to the Red Sox in 1974. He won 20 games in 1973 and made the all-star team, finishing the year with a 3.18 ERA.

Jim Slaton (1975-76, 1980)

The franchise's all-time leader in wins started three opening days, including once after getting traded away and returning. He was on the mound for losses in 1975 (5-2 to Boston) and 1976 (5-0 to Yankees). After an all-star campaign in 1977, he was traded to Detroit in a deal that brought 1980s staple Ben Oglivie. Then, Slaton was back, too, after the Tigers granted him free agency following the 1978 season. He threw 8⅓ innings in the 1980 opener but didn't get the win in a game that ended with a famous grand slam by Sixto Lezcano, good for a 9-5 victory over the Red Sox. Slaton holds the franchise mark for innings pitched, wins (117) and shutouts (19).

Bill Travers (1977)

Travers labored through 7⅔ innings and managed to keep the Yankees minimized, but the Brewers got nothing going in a 3-0 loss. Travers had been an all-star the year before and posted a 2.81 ERA, but injuries eventually derailed his season. He underwent elbow surgery to relocate a nerve, overseen by Frank Jobe (who had recently gained fame by saving Tommy John's career with the first "Tommy John surgery").

Jerry Augustine (1978)

The Kewaunee native worked into the ninth inning that day in an 11-3 win over Baltimore, on his way to making 30 starts in his last season as a primary starter. Mike Caldwell, who wound up taking second in the AL Cy Young voting that season, had a brilliant spring to make the roster as a reliever, but Caldwell made 34 starts that year and registering 23 complete games in Milwaukee's first winning season.

Mike Caldwell (1979, 1981)

How fitting that Caldwell, who had a reputation as a Yankee-killer, defeated the reigning World Series champs on opening day of 1979, 5-1, working a complete game to outshine the man who defeated him for the previous year's Cy Young, Ron Guidry. Caldwell finished with a 16-6 record that year, then started opening day again in 1981 (a 5-3 win over Cleveland) in a strike-divided season that ended with Milwaukee in its first-ever postseason.

Pete Vuckovich (1982)

He would win the Cy Young that season, kicked off with a 15-4 win over the Blue Jays, and the Brewers would reach the World Series for their first and only appearance. But Vuckovich was gutting through a shoulder injury that cost him almost the next two seasons, even though he was able to make appearances with the Brewers in 1985 and 1986. Vuckovich went 18-6 in 1982 with a 3.34 ERA despite a WHIP over 1.5.

Don Sutton (1983-84)

The future Hall of Famer is remembered in Milwaukee as a late-season acquisition in 1982 and contributing to the World Series run, but he stayed for two more years and served as opening day starter both times at age 38 and 39. He was relatively effective for the Brewers, too, posting a 3.93 ERA over the two years, including a 3-2 loss to the Angels to kick of 1983 and a 6-5 loss to the Athletics in 1984. The latter featured the return of another Hall of Famer, Rollie Fingers, who surrendered three runs in a ninth-inning A's comeback without recording an out after missing all of 1983 with injury.

Moose Haas (1985)

Haas was a consistent contributor to the first great batch of Brewers teams, and he posted a 3.85 ERA in 1985 with an 8-8 record. In the 4-2 loss to the White Sox. Haas remains fourth in the organization with 91 wins and fifth in strikeouts with 800.

Teddy Higuera (1986-88)

There's a great argument that he's the best pitcher in franchise history. He was opening day starter after taking second in the 1985 rookie of the year voting, then took second in the Cy Young voting in 1986 with a 20-11 record and 2.79 ERA. The next year, he won 18 games with a 32-inning scoreless streak. And yet, 1988 was his best year, with a 2.45 ERA and league-leading 0.99 WHIP. His opening day performances were all wins: 6-3 over the White Sox, 5-1 over the Red Sox and 12-0 over the Orioles.

Don August (1989)

August worked eight innings and got credit for a complete game, but the Brewers lost to Cleveland, 2-1. August had gone 13-7 the year before with a 3.09 ERA, making him a logical choice to draw the assignment with Higuera injured.

Chris Bosio (1990)

After posting a 2.95 ERA the year before, Bosio allowed only one run in five innings but took a no-decision in a 2-1 loss to the White Sox. On July 31 that year, he was the opposing pitcher at County Stadium when Nolan Ryan won his 300th career game; it would be Bosio's last start of the year; he went on the disabled list with a knee issue two days later. He continued to be one of the team's best starters for the next two seasons.

Mark Knudson (1991)

Milwaukee had horrendous luck with pitching health in 1991. Higuera was sidelined by injury, Bosio's knee soreness knocked him off the opening day schedule, and 1990 midseason acquisition Ron Robinson suffered an injury that eventually limited him to just 4⅓ innings that season. That opened the door for a spring training bright spot, Knudson, with Bosio working the next day. Knudson worked five innings in a 5-4 win over Texas, but rotator cuff soreness sapped his effectiveness that season. He was limited to 12 appearances with a 7.97 ERA, and he spent much of the season in the minors.

Bill Wegman (1992-93)

An exciting season for the Brewers started with a pitcher who went 15-7 with a 2.84 ERA in 1991, and Wegman delivered a strong follow-up campaign, recording a 3.20 ERA in 35 starts. He went eight innings against the Twins in the opener at County Stadium but took a no-decision in a 4-2 loss, then took a 3-1 loss to the Angels to kick off 1993, this time going all eight innings in the road setback. Wegman fell off his previous pace in 1993 but is still seventh in franchise history in wins (81).

Cal Eldred (1994, 1998)

Eldred, who took fourth in the 1992 rookie of the year voting, was part of the Brewers from 1991-1999, though injuries took a huge toll. He still started 25 games in 1994, tied among the league leaders in the strike-truncated season, though he needed reconstructive elbow surgery in the years that followed. The opener in 1994 was memorable largely because of a wind chill of zero degrees in Milwaukee, when he allowed five first-inning runs against Oakland but still clawed through five innings and the Brewers rallied to win, 11-7. He went six innings against Atlanta four years later, though the Braves won, 2-1, on an error by catcher Mike Matheny in the bottom of the ninth to score the winning run. Matheny is now manager of the Kansas City Royals, and Eldred is his pitching coach.

Ricky Bones (1995-96)

The 1994 all-star started two opening days, though he was traded to the Yankees in August 1996. Those were not glorious seasons for Bones, who finished with a 5.33 ERA from 1995-96 with a 1.57 WHIP and 17-26 record. He lost his rotation spot shortly before the trade. His opening day starts were wild, a 15-9 win over the Angels in 1996 and 12-3 win over the White Sox in 1995 in which Bones was pulled in the fifth inning both times and received no decision.

Ben McDonald (1997)

It was a big deal in 1996 when Ben McDonald signed as a free agent, but the schedule shook out to let Bones start the season opener that year. Instead, the 6-7 right-hander opened the 1997 season, working seven innings in a 6-2 loss the Texas Rangers in Arlington. McDonald ran into shoulder trouble later that year and was traded to Cleveland in the offseason but never threw another big-league pitch.

Rafael Roque (1999)

One of the least heralded names on this list, the 27-year-old Roque had just made his big-league debut the previous August, and it wasn't clear he'd even make the roster out of camp. Manager Phil Garner shocked everyone in naming Roque, ostensibly the No. 5 starter, as the opening day starter to replace an ailing Scott Karl, a ploy designed to keep the other pitchers on schedule. Roque threw only two innings after allowing a run on one hit and five walks in a 10-8 win over the Cardinals to launch the 1999 season. Roque didn't register a winning decision in any of his eight starts that year before he was moved to the bullpen; he finished 1-6 with a 5.34 ERA, with the distinction of surrendering both Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa's 64th home runs that year.

Steve Woodard (2000)

In 1997, he authored one of the most spectacular debuts in Wisconsin sports history, but he got a no-decision in his only opening day start ... and so did everyone else, because the rain-shortened game in Cincinnati ended in a 3-3 tie. Woodard allowed his three runs in five innings. He went only 1-7 that season with a 5.96 ERA before getting traded to Cleveland.

Jamey Wright (2001)

Wright allowed just one run on five hits in seven innings but took the hard-luck loss in a 1-0 setback against the Dodgers. Wright occasionally showed flashes of excellence during his Brewers career but the overall numbers weren't there, with a 4.90

ERA that year and 1.54 WHIP.

Ben Sheets (2002-05, 2007-08)

Also arguably the greatest pitcher in Brewers history, a four-time all-star and six-time opening day starter. He never took a loss on opening day though was hit with three no-decisions, including in an 11-9 loss in 2003 to the Cardinals. Otherwise, the Brewers won all his season-opening starts, including a memorable 4-3 win in rainy Chicago to kick off the playoff-drought-ending 2008 season. He missed the 2006 start because of tendinitis.

Doug Davis (2006)

With Sheets injured, Doug Davis got the start in his stead during a 5-2 win over Pittsburgh, getting a no-decision. The deliberate-working left-hander had been strong for the Brewers in 2004 and 2005, but he finished the 2006 season with a 4.91 ERA and 1.52 WHIP.

Jeff Suppan (2009)

One of the most discussed free-agent signings in franchise history, Suppan was tapped to start the season in 2009 by manager Ken Macha despite struggles down the stretch in 2008. Suppan took the loss in a 10-6 setback against the Giants (six runs allowed in four innings) and finished the year 7-12 with a 5.29 ERA over 30 starts. He was released in 2010, bringing to end a career in which he recorded a 5.09 ERA and 1.59 WHIP.

Yovani Gallardo (2010-14)

For five years, Yovani Gallardo was the star of the rotation, even though the Brewers remarkably had a 1-4 record in his opening day starts (though a 7-6 loss to kick off 2011 was decidedly not his fault after a bullpen meltdown against the Reds). In eight years with the Brewers, Gallardo went 89-64 with a 3.69 ERA and 1.30 WHIP, making an all-star team in 2010. He struck out 200 batters in four straight seasons.

Kyle Lohse (2015)

Here begins a streak of six new opening day starters in six years, with dubious outcomes galore. Lohse, whose free-agent signing meant the forfeiture of a first-round draft pick in 2013, allowed eight runs on 10 hits in 3⅓ innings in a 10-0 loss to Colorado on opening day. Lohse posted a 3.45 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over his first two seasons in Milwaukee, but he fell off a cliff this season, posting a 5.85 ERA and 5-13 record in 37 appearances, starting with losses in four of five April starts.

Wily Peralta (2016)

The opening day curse next moved to Peralta, a right-hander whose 17-win 2014 season still had the Brewers dreaming big on his future. But he posted a 4.86 ERA that season — the 12-3 loss to the Giants in the opener was a gloomy harbinger — with a WHIP of 1.53, and those numbers only got worse the next year before the team finally parted ways with him.

Junior Guerra (2017)

The Brewers found an intriguing gem with the first roster move of the David Stearns era when they acquired Guerra off waivers in late 2015, and he thrived with a 2.81 ERA in 2016. It was a great story for the veteran of minor-league and independent-league baseball to get an opening day start, but he left that start with injury and didn't return until late May. He wound up having his worst year with the Brewers (5.12 ERA in 70 innings). The Brewers fell to the Rockies in the opener, 7-5, with Guerra leaving after three innings and getting a no-decision.

Chase Anderson (2018)

Anderson, acquired from Arizona before the 2016 season, had been steady his first year and superb in 2017, when he posted a 2.74 ERA and 12-4 record. The 2018 opener kicked off a wild division-winning season, with a 2-1 win over the Padres in extra innings. Anderson, who scored a run in the game with a face-first slide into home plate, finished with a 3.93 ERA in 30 starts, though the rotation ultimately was anchored by Jhoulys Chacín and Wade Miley in the playoffs.

Jhoulys Chacín (2019)

The unlikely star of the 2018 playoff run was also an unlikely home run hitter in a thrilling 5-4 win over the Cardinals to open the 2019 season, a game ending with Lorenzo Cain's game-saving catch at the wall. But Chacín couldn't replicate his 2018 magic on the whole; he went 3-10 with a 5.79 ERA for the Brewers that year before getting released at the end of August.

Brandon Woodruff (2020-21)

Woodruff took the loss as the Brewers fell to the Cubs, 3-0, to start a bizarre 2020 pandemic-shortened season. He didn't get a decision last year when the Brewers rallied for a 6-5 win over the Twins, but if there was an opening day "curse" for the Brewers, it ended here. Woodruff delivered a signature performance late in 2020 to will the Brewers to the playoffs and he took fifth last year in the Cy Young voting. He takes a back seat this year only because Burnes emerged as an even more dominant option.

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The 33 pitchers who have started opening day for the Brewers