Milwaukee's Miller Park will host a Midwest League game between the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and the Dayton Dragons on Friday, April 27.

For the fourth consecutive season, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers will play a game in Miller Park, home of their major-league affiliate, the Milwaukee Brewers. This year they will host the Dayton Dragons in a night game on Friday, April 27.

It actually will be the sixth time the Timber Rattlers play a game at Miller Park. In addition to the past three years when they were the home team, the Timber Rattlers also played as the visiting team in 2003 and 2004, when they were affiliated with the Seattle Mariners. (The Beloit Snappers were Milwaukee’s Midwest League affiliate in 2003 and 2004.)

This is the first time the Dragons will play in a major-league stadium, even though Dayton isn’t far from Cincinnati. (The Dragons are affiliated with the Reds.) Perhaps this experience will lead to the Dragons playing a game at Great American Ball Park, but I don’t expect that to happen anytime soon because (I assume) anything less than an official sellout at the Reds’ stadium would count against Dayton’s sellout record. (The Peoria Chiefs get credit for hosting the best-attended game in Midwest League history, a contest that drew 32,103 fans — including me — to Wrigley Field on July 29, 2008.)

In any case, games like these are exciting for the players and the fans. Minor-leaguers get a taste of playing in a major-league stadium and fans get to watch them do it — and, best of all for the fans, they get to do their part at minor-league prices. (Although I will informally lodge a complaint here that the cost of parking at Miller Park for last year’s “Border Battle” between the Chiefs and the Timber Rattlers was the same price as it costs when you go to a Brewers game there. The cost of parking should be free, or at least cheaper, when a minor-league game is being played there.)

But I digress. All tickets for the April 27 game cost $10 and hot dogs and sodas will be available for just a dollar each. Fans can purchase tickets starting Monday at 9 a.m. at brewers.com or by calling 1-800-933-7890, but I guarantee you can just show up that day and still buy tickets for great seats while saving yourself the added costs associated with purchasing tickets online or over the phone.

The Peoria Chiefs take batting practice before taking on the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at Miller Park last year.