Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell runs with a bucket following the announcement that the Brewers’ home opener was postponed after two St. Louis Cardinals players tested positive for the coronavirus on, Friday in Milwaukee. (AP photo)

MILWAUKEE (AP) – The Milwaukee Brewers are finally playing their home opener a few days later than expected.

Milwaukee planned to open its Miller Park schedule Friday against St. Louis, but the Brewers’ entire three-game weekend series got scrapped after multiple Cardinals tested positive for coronavirus.

There could be more word Monday on how many St. Louis players are affected, which will affect a four-game, three-day series between the Cardinals and Tigers that starts Tuesday evening in Detroit.

The Brewers will try again when the Chicago White Sox come to town. Milwaukee won’t have two-time All-Star outfielder Lorenzo Cain or former MVP Ryan Braun in the lineup.

Braun was put on the 10-day injured list Sunday, retroactive to July 30, with an infected right finger. Cain announced Saturday he was opting out of the rest of the season over virus concerns,

That likely creates more playing time for Ben Gamel, who has a homer and a triple in 12 at-bats this season.

And on Saturday, Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy suffered a heart attack during a team workout at Miller Park, but team officials said the 61-year-old received a stent and was resting comfortably and should be out of the hospital later this week.

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ALL DONE

The Mets will play the rest of the season without two-time All-Star slugger Yoenis Cespedes.

Cespedes wasn’t at the ballpark in Atlanta for Sunday’s game and his agents told the team in the late innings that he had opted out of playing anymore this year because of COVID-19 concerns.

Cespedes and Cain join San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price and Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman as former All-Stars who have opted out.

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BACK TO WORK

The Philadelphia Phillies face a difficult assignment in their long-awaited return to action.

Bryce Harper and the Phils haven’t played since opening the season with a three-game series against Miami, a team that has had at least 18 players test positive for the coronavirus. Although the Phillies didn’t have any players test positive, their games last week were postponed as a cautionary measure.

The Phillies got to work out again Saturday, and now come back from a weeklong layoff to face Gerrit Cole and the AL East-leading New York Yankees on the road.