Christian

Yelich

Nothing the Brewers are doing needs fixing at the moment. The lineup: LF Jackson Chourio, 1B Jake Bauers, DH Yelich, C William Contreras, 2B Brice Turang, CF Garrett Mitchell, SS Cooper Pratt, RF Sal Frelick and 3B David Hamilton.

Yelich got the Brewers on the board first with a run-scoring triple off of Nick Martinez in the home half of the first inning. He then scored on an RBI single by William Contreras. That was his lone hit in the ballgame but played a major role in the Brewers’ taking a 1-0 lead in the Series. Expect the 34-year-old slugger to be back near the top of the lineup for Saturday night’s showdown against Rays’ right-hander Drew Rasmussen.

Turang has been a fixture in the second spot in the Brewers’ lineup in the postseason, but he’ll slide down to the fifth spot in the order with Rays’ right-hander Nick Martinez on the hill on Friday. Jake Bauers moves up to the second spot in the order while Christian Yelich will hit third. Here’s the full lineup that the Brewers will roll out in front of their home faithful and the entire baseball world on Friday night: Jackson Chourio (LF),
Jake Bauers (1B), Christian Yelich (DH), William Contreras (C), Brice Turang (2B), Garrett Mitchell (CF), Cooper Pratt (SS), Sal Frelick (RF) and David Hamilton (3B).

Yelich took a seat against left-hander Blake Snell in Game 3 on Wednesday but he’s right back in there as the Brewers’ designated hitter as they look to complete their four-game sweep of the two-time defending World Champions. Here’s the full lineup that the Brewers will deploy against Dodgers’ right-hander Tyler Glasnow on Thursday: Jackson Chourio (LF), Brice Turang (2B), William Contreras (C), Jake Bauers (1B), Yelich (DH), Garrett Mitchell (CF), Cooper Pratt (SS), Sal Frelick (RF) and David Hamilton (3B).

With arguably the best left-hander in the game on the mound for the Dodgers in Tarik Skubal, Yelich will begin the first game of the series on the bench. Andrew Vaughn will be the designated hitter in Yelich’s place and hit fifth. Sal Frelick is also out against the southpaw, so Luis Lara will be the right fielder. The full lineup with Jacob Misiorowski on the mound: Jackson Chourio LF, Brice Turang 2B, William Contreras C, Jake Bauers 1B, Vaughn DH, Garrett Mitchell CF, Cooper Pratt SS, Lara RF and Joey Ortiz at third base.

Chourio, who delivered a game-winning single against San Diego superstar closer Mason Miller in Game 2, and the Brewers have a chance to eliminate the Padres on their home field and punch their ticket to the NLCS for the second consecutive season. Here’s the full lineup: Chourio (LF), Jake Bauers (1B), William Contreras (C), Brice Turang (2B), Christian Yelich (DH), Garrett Mitchell (CF), Cooper Pratt (SS), Sal Frelick (RF) and Joey Ortiz (3B).

Frelick and Hamilton sat in favor of Luis Lara and Joey Ortiz with a left-hander on the mound for the Padres in Game 1 on Saturday, but they’ll jump into the lineup against right-hander Michael King. The Brewers have also shuffled up the order of their lineup. Here’s the full lineup: Jackson Chourio (LF), Brice Turang (2B), Jake Bauers (1B), William Contreras (C), Garrett Mitchell (CF), Christian Yelich (DH), Frelick (RF), Cooper Pratt (SS) and Hamilton (3B).

The biggest development here is Lara getting the nod in right field with Jake Bauers at the cold corner over Andrew Vaughn. It doesn’t come as a surprise to see Bauers in the lineup, but the widely-held assumption was that he would be their primary right fielder in the postseason. It’s basically Lara getting the nod over Andrew Vaughn to face Padres lefty Robbie Ray. Here’s the full lineup: Jackson Chourio (LF), Brice Turang (2B), William Contreras (C), Bauers (1B), Christian Yelich (DH), Cooper Pratt (SS), Lara (RF), Garrett Mitchell (CF) and Joey Ortiz.

He’s the first official captain in franchise history. This is some interesting time for such a move, given that his decline this year presents questions about his future as a regular. Yelich, who turns 35 in December, has been a modest liability for most of the season; he’s hit .226/.309/.371 in 101 games since returning from a groin strain in mid-May, and he hasn’t played in the field since Apr. 7. He’ll make $26 million each of the next two years before probably becoming a free agent after 2028 (he has a mutual $20 million option with a $6.5 million buyout for 2029).

The Brewers have clinched the division and are playing an early game, so it makes sense that they would rest a handful of their starters. Fantasy managers should expect them to take a similar approach next week, as they will want to give their starters an extra day of rest or two before the postseason.