Christian

Yelich

Andrew Vaughn is starting against tough Braves LHP Chris Sale. Yelich has been receiving plenty of days off down the stretch, so his fantasy managers in daily leagues should be used to this by now.

Yelich broke the game open in the fifth inning with a three-run blast off Bryce Miller to give the Brewers a commanding lead on their way to a blowout win. He later singled, scored, and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth as the Brewers hit around the order. The 34-year-old outfielder is hitting .228/.308/.374 with nine homers, 51 runs scored, 44 RBI, and 10 steals across 381 plate appearances.

Yelich had a chance to maybe do something in the ninth, too, but pinch-runner Brandon Lockridge was easily thrown out trying to steal with Yelich taking a 1-1 ball from Mason Miller, ending the game. Yelich’s homer off Casey Mize was his eighth of the year.

It has become routine that Yelich generally sits during Sunday afternoon games as a way to get him some rest and keep him healthy for the duration of the season. The fact that the Brewers are facing a left-hander in this one only fueled that fire. William Contreras will function as the club’s designated hitter in his place while Gary Sanchez starts behind the dish.

This is against a right-hander, too. Yelich, though, is 3-for-28 with an 8/0 K/BB this month, dropping him down to .232/.316/.371 for the season. It hasn’t cost him any playing time yet, but one wonders if it might once Sal Frelick comes off the injured list.

Yelich got the Brewers on the board with an RBI double in the third inning that helped set up a three-run inning against Pirates’ starter Paul Skenes. He chipped in a stolen base too, his fourth in 15 games since the All-Star break. His bat has been ice cold since then with a .646 OPS, so it’s nice to see him contribute in other ways and hopefully get himself off the schneid.

Bauers was slated to hit third in this one with Christian Yelich being dropped in the lineup. He’s also been battling a toe issue recently. It’ll be Garrett Mitchell moving up to the third spot in his place and Yelich bumping up to fifth. It doesn’t sound like a significant concern, but fantasy managers should keep an eye on his status for the remainder of the week.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy told reporters they’re moving Yelich down in an effort to generate a spark and get things trending in a different direction. It’ll be Jake Bauers moving up to the third spot in front of cleanup hitter William Contreras to face Pirates starter Jared Jones. Yelich has been ice-cold since last month’s All-Star break, hitting .192 (10-for-52) with one homer in 13 games.

The Brewers have routinely used Sunday as a day of rest for Yelich in an effort to keep him healthy and fresh for the duration of the season. Jake Bauers will function as the team’s designated hitter in his place and will bat fifth against Walbert Urena and the Angels on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles.

Yelich gets a break with rookie southpaw Zac Thornton toeing the rubber for New York in this one following eight consecutive starts at DH. It’ll be William Contreras getting a night off from the catching duties with Gary Sánchez behind the dish.