Brice Turang fighting knee, dropped in lineup

Turang’s home run was his 19th of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Brady Singer in the first inning. Turang has five hits, two home runs and six RBI over his last two games. He’s hitting .263 with an .803 OPS and 92 RBI.

Setting an MLB record with their second 20-run shutout win this season, the Brewers clinched their eight playoff berth over their last nine seasons in this onslaught. Turang was at the middle of it all, falling just a triple short of the cycle and he broke this game open early with a three-run home run in the second inning. Besides him, Garrett Mitchell also had three hits plus a grand slam, Jackson Chourio and Joey Ortiz had four hits apiece, and every member of their starting nine reached base safely at least twice. This lineup is certainly clicking as the playoffs approach.

Turang is 8-for-15 with seven RBI and five walks in five games since the Brewers briefly dropped him to sixth in the order last week. He’s already back batting second the last two days.

David Hamilton is at the keystone and hitting ninth in his absence. It’s notable that Turang, who collected three hits and drove in three runs during Friday’s contest, is taking a seat against lefty Andrew Abbott after Brewers manager Pat Murphy said earlier this week that he’s been battling a lingering right knee issue recently. It sounds like he’s going to be able to play through the issue, but is probably going to require the occasional maintenance day down the home stretch.

Whether or not getting dropped to sixth in the lineup had anything to do with it, Turang turned in his best game in weeks tonight. He wasn’t running at 100 percent while dealing with right knee soreness, but he picked up three hits for the first time since Aug. 8.

It appears to just be a routine day off against LHP Sean Manaea. The entire right-handed contingent of Brewers platoon hitters is in against Manaea, with David Hamilton and Sal Frelick staying in the lineup and Turang and Christian Yelich sitting.

Turang broke this game wide open with a three-run home run off Mets’ starter Robert Stock in the fourth inning to give the Brewers a commanding 7-0 lead. His 78 RBI lead the team and his 17 home runs are second most as he’s enjoyed an unlikely power surge.

It appears to be a routine day off for Chourio, who hasn’t taken a seat since last month’s All-Star break. It’ll be Sal Frelick taking over in left field for his first action since coming off the injured list.

The Brewers weren’t exactly quick to activate Frelick, who, after just a couple of weeks off due to a shoulder injury, went 10-for-36 with two homers over 10 games for Triple-A Nashville on a rehab assignment. It seems like a sign that they’ll treat him as more of a fourth outfielder now than the lineup fixture he’s been in recent years. Frelick hit just .236/.301/.330 in 313 plate appearances before going on the injured list, and Luis Lara has been a bit of an upgrade both offensively and defensively in his place.

Turang is back at second base and hitting leadoff following an extended four-game absence due to right knee pain. The 26-year-old fantasy stalwart underwent an MRI that didn’t reveal any structural issues and appears likely to avoid a trip to the injured list. It’s a massive relief for the Brewers, who have been dealing with an avalanche of injuries at their middle infield spots. Fantasy managers can safely exhale after a couple days of uncertainty.