David

Hamilton

Cooper Pratt has started all six games at shortstop so far, leaving Ortiz and Hamilton to divvy up only the starts at third. Ortiz is thus far 1-for-13, while Hamilton is 1-for-4. The Brewers lineup tonight: LF Jackson Chourio, 2B Brice Turang, C William Contreras, 1B Jake Bauers, DH Christian Yelich, CF Garrett Mitchell, SS Pratt, RF Sal Frelick and 3B Hamilton.

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).

Ortiz suffered an injury during Friday’s game against the Cards and has dealt with various ailments as of late, and the Brewers won’t take any chances. David Hamilton will handle third base and hit ninth while Ortiz sits.

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.

Pratt missed the minimum 10 days with his hamstring strain. His return will push Joey Ortiz back over to third base to split time with David Hamilton. Jonathan Ornelas sticks around for now, but he’ll probably be dropped once Sal Frelick is activated.

It’s the second straight game that Turang has missed due to pain in his right knee. It sounds like the Brewers may consider a stint on the injured list if he’s not feeling any better on Saturday. David Hamilton is starting in his place at second base and batting eighth against Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Dodgers on Friday night.

Ortiz sits for the second straight contest after leaving Saturday’s game against the Twins with neck tightness. David Hamilton draws another start at shortstop in his absence. It’s possible he’ll require a trip to the injured list if he’s not ready to go in a couple days.

With Cooper Pratt finally up and Joey Ortiz hitting of late, it might be more of a platoon/bench role for Hamilton as he returns from his hamstring injury. Hamilton is hitting .240/.317/.333 with 18 stolen bases, three homers and a league-leading 10 sacrifice hits.

The speedster was also caught stealing in his first rehab game since landing on the injured list on July 7th. Hamilton had been playing well before the injury, slashing .313/.353/.438 in his last 15 games with four RBI and four steals. With Joey Ortiz also starting to hit well, Hamilton’s imminent return could cut into Cooper Pratt’s playing time.

Hamilton hit the injured list with a mild left hamstring strain just prior to the All-Star break. He should make it back to Milwaukee in a reserve role before the end of the month.