Luis

Lara

After being swept by the Dodgers in last year’s NLCS, the Brewers have taken a 1-0 lead in their bid to reach the World Series for the first time as a National League club. Lara gave them just enough offense with an RBI single up the middle off of Tarik Skubal that broke a 1-1 tie. The 21-year-old was in the lineup in place of Sal Frelick, and could be back on the bench for Game 2 come Monday with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound. He hasn’t dominated in his MLB time, but there have been more than enough flashes to understand why he is considered one of the top outfield prospects in the sport.

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.

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.

It appears to be a precautionary measure with Milwaukee having already wrapped up a playoff berth. It’ll be Luis Lara taking over in center field and hitting eighth in his place. There should be an update on his status following the contest.

Bauers has been dealing with a relatively minor foot issue for the last couple weeks. He’s presumably available off the bench with rookie Luis Lara taking over in right field to open the contest.

The Brewers weren’t exactly quick to activate Frelick, who, after just a couple of weeks off due to a shoulder injury, went 10-for-36 with two homers over 10 games for Triple-A Nashville on a rehab assignment. It seems like a sign that they’ll treat him as more of a fourth outfielder now than the lineup fixture he’s been in recent years. Frelick hit just .236/.301/.330 in 313 plate appearances before going on the injured list, and Luis Lara has been a bit of an upgrade both offensively and defensively in his place.

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.

Lara was hitless in his first three at-bats until he led off the seventh with a single and scored on a base hit by David Hamilton. He then homered off infielder Leo Rivas as Seattle put a position player on the mound in the blowout loss. Still, it counts as Lara’s first career home run all the same. Lara later drove in another run on a base hit in the same inning. The 21-year-old outfielder is hitting .242/.327/.363 with 13 runs scored, 15 RBI, and two steals across 104 plate appearances.

Lara is 1-for-16 in his last five games, putting him at .224/.333/.345 in 69 plate appearances since his callup. The plan likely is to keep him in the majors for the rest of the season, but he figures to lose playing time after Sal Frelick comes off the injured list, and if he’s struggling at that point, perhaps he could be sent down, rather than Brandon Lockridge.

Lara drew a walk in the fourth inning and stole second before scoring on a base hit. He then was credited with an RBI on a groundout in the fifth, then tripled in the seventh to drive in two runs, putting his speed on display. The 21-year-old outfielder is hitting .289/.391/.447 with six runs and 10 RBI across 46 plate appearances.