Christian

Yelich

Brewers manager Pat Murphy is going to shake things up when they face Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto after his club was limited to just one run on two hits by Dodgers starter Blake Snell in Monday’s series opener. Bauers came off the bench to deliver a ground-rule double in the ninth inning against high-leverage reliever Roki Sasaki and will draw his second start of the postseason in this one. Here’s the full lineup: Jackson Chourio (RF), Brice Turang (2B), William Contreras (C), Christian Yelich (DH), Andrew Vaughn (1B), Sal Frelick (CF), Caleb Durbin (3B), Bauers (LF) and Joey Ortiz (SS).

Chourio gets the nod in the leadoff spot over veteran Christian Yelich as Milwaukee’s top-of-the-order table-setter to face Dodgers lefty ace Blake Snell to kick off the extended best-of-seven series at American Family Field. The 21-year-old franchise cornerstone told reporters his right hamstring is feeling close to full strength again after aggravating the issue during last week’s NLDS opener against the Cubs. Here’s the full lineup: Chourio (RF), Christian Yelich (DH), William Contreras (C), Brice Turang (2B), Andrew Vaughn (1B), Sal Frelick (CF), Caleb Durbin (3B), Isaac Collins (LF) and Joey Ortiz (SS).

Milwaukee had some scoring chances, but they were unable to mount a serious comeback effort after falling behind right away when Cubs outfielder Ian Happ connected for a three-run homer in the opening frame. Yelich was the lone Brewers hitter to reach base safely multiple times as they were shut out at Wrigley Field by Chicago starter Matthew Boyd and a quartet of relievers. They’ll need to get their bats going again in Saturday’s decisive Game 5 showdown in Milwaukee if they’re going to keep their season going.

Chourio remains in Milwaukee’s lineup for Thursday night’s potential series-clinching contest at Wrigley Field despite battling a lingering right hamstring issue that hasn’t adversely impacted his availability throughout the best-of-five series. Blake Perkins is back in center field over Brandon Lockridge with Andrew Vaughn at first base over Jake Bauers to face Cubs veteran lefty Matthew Boyd: Here’s the full lineup: Christian Yelich (DH), Chourio (LF), William Contreras (C), Brice Turang (2B), Vaughn (1B), Caleb Durbin (3B), Sal Frelick (RF), Perkins (CF) and Joey Ortiz (SS).

Contreras is good to go after missing a handful of games at the conclusion of the regular season with a lingering left hand issue. The other notable development for Milwaukee is manager Pat Murphy sticking with lefties Brice Turang and Christian Yelich near the top of the order with southpaw Matthew Boyd taking the ball for Chicago in this one. Here’s the full lineup: Jackson Chourio (LF), Turang (2B), Contreras (C), Yelich (DH), Andrew Vaughn (1B), Sal Frelick (RF), Caleb Durbin (3B), Blake Perkins (CF) and Joey Ortiz (SS).

Yelich’s first game as a leadoff hitter can be qualified as a success, even if it comes in an extra-inning loss. His single to center in the second pushed his RBI total to 102, and the four-reach game increased his on-base percentage to .346. Long story short, it seems likely that this isn’t the last time we see Yelich hit leadoff in 2025.

Yelich has been moved up to the top of Milwaukee’s batting order with Jackson Chourio hitting fifth and Sal Frelick moved down to the fifth spot. The 33-year-old has been on a roll lately, batting .296 (8-for-27) with one homer and four RBI over his last seven games.

Yelich got the scoring started in the home half of the first inning with an RBI double off of Caden Dana that plated Jackson Chourio. He then chased Dana from the game with a 409-foot (103.4 mph EV) two-run shot in the fourth inning that increased the Brewers’ lead to 5-0. The 33-year-old outfielder is having an outstanding season in the middle of the Brewers’ lineup, slashing .267/.346/.467 with 29 homers, 99 RBI and 16 stolen bases.

Yelich’s home run was his 28th of the year and first in four games since returning from a five-game absence due to a back injury. Yelich is hitting .267 with an .811 OPS and 95 RBI this year as he looks to put his back issues behind him and finish the season strong.

Yelich rejoins Milwaukee’s lineup following an extended five-game absence due to lower back soreness. It’s an extremely encouraging development that the 33-year-old veteran managed to avoid a trip to the injured list given his lengthy history of back issues. He’s batting cleanup on Monday night when the Brewers face Rangers southpaw Jacob Latz at Globe Life Field.