Wednesday's 1-0 win tied for the fastest home game in American Family Field history

The Milwaukee Brewers played a crisp 2-hour, 4-minute game April 17 in the final game of a series with the San Diego Padres, a 1-0 win that matches the shortest game ever played at American Family Field.

Milwaukee's 1-0 win over the Reds last July 9 and a 2-1 win over the Dodgers on Sept. 6, 2006 also hit 2:04. The game against the Reds was the eighth time in Brewers history a first-inning run held up in a 1-0 game; in this case, it was Jesse Winker's RBI single in the opening frame.

With overall pace of play picking up around baseball, it's no surprise to see the record threatened for the stadium's shortest.

In the age of the pitch clock, games in Major League Baseball dropped to 2 hours, 42 minutes last year, a subtraction of 24 minutes from 2022 and the lowest average since 1983. It's down a hair to 2:41 thus far in 2024.

The Brewers did play a game Sept. 19, 1976, that lasted just 1 hour and 16 minutes, but that was a six-inning game shortened by rain against the Yankees, so that doesn't count. Among nine-inning games, what are the shortest in Brewers history? Here's a sampling, though we'll stick to just home games:

Shortest home games in Brewers history

July 7, 1970: Brewers 1, Chicago White Sox 0 (1 hour, 34 minutes)

Lew Krausse allowed just four hits in a complete-game shutout in the second game of a doubleheader, quickly capping off the fastest game in Brewers history (home or away). After a leadoff double in the seventh by Mike Hegan, Dave May's sacrifice bunt was mishandled, allowing Hegan to score the only run of the game.

April 20, 1973: Brewers 2, New York Yankees 0 (1 hour, 42 minutes)

The intimate gathering of 8,348 fans barely had time to sit down for the fastest nine-inning game (home or road) in club history. The Brewers had only two hits but made them count — a single by Darrell Porter and two-run homer by May three batters later. The Brewers only walked once, but Jim Slaton was just as effective in throwing a complete-game shutout for the Crew, allowing five hits and one walk.

May 6, 1979: Brewers 4, Toronto 0 (1 hour, 44 minutes)

This was a much bigger crowd (53,962), and the Brewers actually amassed 10 hits. Robin Yount homered, Sixto Lezcano had two run-scoring hits and Lary Sorensen allowed just four hits and a walk in nine innings.

Oct. 2, 1976: Detroit 4, Brewers 1 (1 hour, 46 minutes)

On the penultimate day of the season, the Brewers did get a run on a sacrifice fly with two outs in the ninth, but it was too late. Mark "The Bird" Fidrych went the distance for Detroit in the final start of his Rookie of the Year season.

Aug. 1, 1974: Detroit 2, Brewers 0 (1 hour, 47 minutes)

Bobby Mitchell's single in the seventh was all that stood between Tigers starter Woodie Fryman and a no-hitter. Slaton also went the distance, but the Tigers scored once in the second and added insurance in the ninth.

Aug. 1, 1971: Brewers 3, Washington 2 (1 hour, 49 minutes)

Skip Lockwood allowed a couple runs on five hits and two walks but went the distance, and Bobby Mitchell's two-run home run in the sixth proved to be the difference in the second game of a doubleheader sweep. In the first game, Mitchell hit a three-run homer in the third that helped the Brewers prevail, 4-3.

May 3, 1978: Brewers 4, Chicago White Sox 0 (1 hour, 49 minutes)

Jerry Augustine's three-hit shutout propelled the Brewers to an easy early-season win.

OK, so we've established that games moved faster in the 1970s. What about from the '90s to now, in the era of greater in-game advertisements?

Fastest home games in the 1990s

Oct. 1, 1995: Brewers 8, Boston 1 (1 hour, 57 minutes)

Dave Nilsson's two-run homer in the first set the tone against knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, and Nilsson later added a double. When John Jaha hit a three-run homer in the eighth, it was an 8-0 blowout, and Scott Karl finished the complete-game after allowing a leadoff homer in the ninth.

May 24, 1991: Brewers 2, Cleveland 0 (1 hour, 57 minutes)

Jaime Navarro went the distance and Robin Yount's RBI single in the third was all the Brewers would need in an easygoing victory.

July 29, 1997: Brewers 2, Blue Jays 0 (2 hours, 1 minute)

It's not the one you're thinking. In the first game of a doubleheader, Jose Mercedes allowed three hits in seven innings, and Gerald Williams provided all the offense with a two-run homer in the fifth. This came one day after Steve Woodard's unforgettable debut in a 1-0 win over Toronto in the first game of another doubleheader, though that game went 2 hours and 17 minutes.

Fastest games of the 2000s

Sept. 6, 2006: Dodgers 2, Brewers 1 (2 hours, 4 minutes)

Chris Capuano worked eight strong innings but Derek Lowe one-upped him. Matt Kemp's RBI single in the seventh broke a 1-1 tie, and Kemp also tripled leading off the fifth and later scored an earlier run to tie.

May 7, 2007: Brewers 3, Washington 0 (2 hours, 5 minutes)

Geoff Jenkins hit a three-run homer in the second, and that was all the scoring for the day. Chris Capuano allowed seven hits but no walks in eight innings, and Francisco Cordero locked down the save.

Fastest games of the 2010s and beyond

April 17, 2024: Brewers 1, Padres 0 (2 hours, 4 minutes)

Padres starter Michael King still had a no-hitter with two outs in the seventh and struck out 10 batters but took a gut-punching loss when the Brewers scratched across a run in the eighth on Blake Perkins' two-out RBI single. The Brewers were working without a traditional starter and got lengthy outings from Bryse Wilson and Bryan Hudson to preserve the shutout.

July 9, 2023: Brewers 1, Reds 0 (2 hours, 4 minutes)

Wade Miley threw six shutout innings against a red-hot Reds team in a crucial series between two teams competing for the NL Central in the last game before the all-star break. The bullpen went nine-up, nine-down, and Jesse Winker's first-inning RBI single stood up.

May 24, 2023: Brewers 4, Astros 0 (2 hours, 9 minutes)

Milwaukee shut down the reigning World Series champions, with Adrian Houser starting and throwing 5⅓ innings. Willy Adames, Brian Anderson and Owen Miller home runs provided the offense.

July 26, 2023: Brewers 3, Cincinnati 0 (2 hours, 9 minutes)

Tyrone Taylor's two-run homer in the seventh broke a scoreless tie, and Freddy Peralta struck out an eye-popping 13 batters over six innings in a win over the division rival.

Special thanks to baseball-reference.com for the data.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Brewers tied for fastest game in stadium history April 17.