Garrett

Mitchell

Good to see. Mitchell left Sunday’s Little League Classic after getting hit in the forearm while trying to bunt.

Mitchell was hurt when he was hit by a pitch on a bunt attempt in the fourth. The Brewers have Monday off and face a lefty on Tuesday, so Mitchell will have some time to rest.

Mitchell ran after the HBP, but he was replaced by Luis Lara when it was time to go back out to center.

Mitchell doubled twice off George Kirby and later hit just his second career homer off a lefty when he took Jhonathan Díaz deep in the eighth. The previous one came against Brooks Raley on Apr. 4, 2003. Mitchell is batting .261/.356/.421 with nine homers in 425 plate appearances. In spite of his success today, he’ll probably find himself on the bench against the Braves’ Chris Sale on Friday.

Luis Lara gets a chance to patrol center field with Mitchell receiving some extra time off to rest a lingering foot issue. The 27-year-old outfielder is hitting .202 with zero homers and six steals across 28 games since the All-Star break.

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.

Mitchell will get a rare day off with left-hander Kyle Freeland toeing the slab for the Rockies on Sunday afternoon. Luis Lara will start in his place in center field and will bat seventh for the Brewers on Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee.

Mitchell has hit in seven straight games and is batting .411/.459/.979 in 15 games this month. It’s too bad for his fantasy value that he’s not stealing more bases — today’s was his first in two months — but since that would add to the injury risk, it’s really not worth it for him right now. The important thing is keeping him in the lineup. Since debuting in 2022, he’s been worth 5.5 bWAR in a bit less than a season and a half of playing time (763 plate appearances, 229 games).

Mitchell was the hero in this extra-innings affair. He delivered the game-winning hit with two-strikes in the 10th inning and made two other fantastic plays in center field to keep this game going just beforehand. It’s just more great baseball for Mitchell who’s in the midst of the best stretch of his career with a .323/.381/.563 slash line over his last 30 games. Also very importantly for Mitchell, his strikeout rate has held firm below 30% over the span which doesn’t sound great, but is lower than his season average by a few percentage points.

Chourio takes a seat after going just 3-for-21 during a five-game series against the division-rival Cardinals earlier this week. The 22-year-old franchise cornerstone will get a bit of a mental reset break in the front-end of the twin bill and figures to return for Saturday’s evening showdown at PNC Park. It’ll be rookie Luis Lara taking over in left field with Garrett Mitchell hitting second in the opening contest.