MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Jeromy Burnitz arrived at County Stadium shortly before 9 a.m. Monday, and the first thing he saw was a guy in a snowmobile suit grilling bratwursts in the parking lot.

It's time for baseball in Milwaukee, the Brewers star thought. It also was time for the second final opener at County Stadium and the hometown debut of the Brewers' revamped roster, all on a bitterly cold Wisconsin day.

Geoff Jenkins homered and Milwaukee's bullpen had another strong outing as the Brewers beat the Florida Marlins 4-3.

A crowd of 53,509 braved temperatures in the 30s and biting winds to welcome the new season and enjoy one last opener at the home of Milwaukee baseball since 1953.

"Opening day in Milwaukee, it's something special," Burnitz said. "It's been cold every year since I've been here, but people enjoy themselves anyway. It's a great atmosphere."

The game was the 48th opener at ramshackle County Stadium, the Brewers' only park since 1970 and the former home of the Milwaukee Braves. Shiny new Miller Park, rapidly approaching completion 100 feet behind the current field, will open in 2001, a year behind schedule following a crane accident last July 14 that killed three ironworkers.

The weather won't be a factor at Miller Park, which has a retractable roof. Though early-season tailgating will always go on outside, the frigid field conditions won't ever be quite the same at another Milwaukee opener.

"There wasn't much action today," said Brewers manager Davey Lopes, who won his home debut. "I wish we could have given the crowd a little bit more, but the crowd was great."

Even the warm-weather Marlins, most of whom were wearing several layers of clothing, understood the importance of the Brewers' distinctive opening-day conditions.

"The weather is something to me that's a fun element," Marlins manager John Boles said. "It's another facet of the game. It's supposed to be cold in Milwaukee on April 10. I was kind of sorry there weren't any snow flurries."

Jenkins' solo homer put Milwaukee ahead in the second, and the Brewers then capitalized on wildness by right-hander Vladimir Nunez (0-1) in the third.

Nunez loaded the bases by walking Henry Blanco, Marquis Grissom and Mark Loretta, and Burnitz hit a two-run single under first baseman Kevin Millar's glove. Jenkins' sacrifice fly scored Loretta.

"I'm from Cuba. You never see the weather like that," laughed Nunez, who said he had to throw 80 pregame pitches on the bullpen and the mound to get warm. "I don't like the cold weather, and that's cold out there."

Florida scored twice in the fifth on an RBI single by Brant Brown and a sacrifice fly by Mike Lowell.

Jimmy Haynes (2-0), acquired by the Brewers from Oakland during the winter, allowed three runs -- two earned -- and seven hits in six innings. Matt T. Williams, David Weathers and Bob Wickman combined for two-hit relief, with Wickman pitching the ninth for his second save.

"I looked up in the fourth inning and thought, 'Gee, there's a lot of people here,' " Haynes said. "I tried to be very focused, so I didn't even think about how important the day was until the fourth or fifth inning."

Before the crane accident last year, the Brewers scheduled a season-long series of tributes to Milwaukee baseball.

The organization took a low-key approach to the current season. While Warren Spahn threw out the first pitch at the 1999 opener, Bob Uecker did the honors Monday. Bitter winds and overcast skies didn't stop thousands of fans from gathering for traditional Wisconsin tailgating, and the cheap seats in the outfield bleachers were nearly full.

Game notes
With Grissom on third base in the fifth inning, Nunez threw four extremely wide balls to Burnitz. The same thing happened to Burnitz in the seventh with Charlie Hayes on third. The crowd booed, but Burnitz likely will see similar treatment all season. He drew a career-high 91 walks last season. ... Florida's Alex Gonzalez, hitting .071 (2-for-28) coming in, was batting seventh in the lineup Monday after being dropped to eighth a day earlier. Manager John Boles is angry with the former All-Star for his lackadaisical play. ... Wisconsin's Final Four men's basketball team was recognized on the field before the game.