William

Contreras

Contreras will receive $15.5 million, which is exactly what he made the last two years combined ($6.1 million and $9.4 million). He’ll be eligible for free agency for the first time next winter. That’s led to some speculation that the Brewers could trade him. Most, though, would probably prefer that they try to run it back.

Aaron Ashby, who also had a great case for NLCS MVP honors, again gets snubbed here. Cooper Pratt and Jackson Chourio both had better offensive series than Contreras, but the catcher does deserve credit for his four caught stealings and his great success challenging pitches. He was also the Brewers’ best hitter overall this postseason, finishing with a 1.036 OPS, three homers and nine RBI in 13 games.

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).

Contreras delivered an RBI single in the opening frame before connecting on a center-cut fastball from Dodgers lefty reliever Kris Bubic, sending a majestic 436-foot blast to left-center field to tie the ballgame in the fifth inning. It was his third round-tripper of the playoffs and fifth career postseason homer, which ties him with teammate Jackson Chourio for Milwaukee’s franchise record. He put the Brewers ahead with a sixth-inning single to left field off hard-throwing righty Brock Stewart before being walked on four pitches his next time up. The power-hitting 28-year-old backstop reached base safely in four of his five plate appearances to help give Milwaukee a commanding 2-0 advantage in the best-of-seven NLCS. The series heads to Los Angeles with Game 3 on Wednesday evening.

Contreras got the Brewers on the board with a shot off Nick Pivetta in the fourth inning. The 28-year-old also drew a walk in the ninth inning, but the Brew Crew were unable to score and picked up their first postseason loss. Contreras has homered twice in this series with a slash of .364/.462/.909 over the first three games.

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 Brewers were tied for 28th place in the majors in homers this year, but they got two to account for their runs tonight, with Jackson Chourio hitting a two-run homer off Robbie Ray in the third and William Contreras breaking the tie off Adrian Morejon in the seventh. Contreras’s homer was his third in 19 career postseason games. The two teams will play again Sunday, with Michael King and Logan Henderson expected to start.

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.