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.

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.

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.

It was Yelich’s only hit in five at-bats, and it almost seemed like an accident, as he slapped a fastball down the third base line for what he thought was going to be a foul ball. It stayed fair, though, and the Brewers went on to win a game in which they were outhomered three to zero.

Yelich is batting .333 with two homers and nine RBI in his last 12 games. He’ll need to turn in quite the September to avoid finishing with the worst OPS of his career, but we wouldn’t rule it out. He’s hitting .238/.319/.388 right now, putting him at .707. His current low is .736 from 2021.

Andrew Vaughn is starting against tough Braves LHP Chris Sale. Yelich has been receiving plenty of days off down the stretch, so his fantasy managers in daily leagues should be used to this by now.

Yelich broke the game open in the fifth inning with a three-run blast off Bryce Miller to give the Brewers a commanding lead on their way to a blowout win. He later singled, scored, and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth as the Brewers hit around the order. The 34-year-old outfielder is hitting .228/.308/.374 with nine homers, 51 runs scored, 44 RBI, and 10 steals across 381 plate appearances.

Yelich had a chance to maybe do something in the ninth, too, but pinch-runner Brandon Lockridge was easily thrown out trying to steal with Yelich taking a 1-1 ball from Mason Miller, ending the game. Yelich’s homer off Casey Mize was his eighth of the year.

It has become routine that Yelich generally sits during Sunday afternoon games as a way to get him some rest and keep him healthy for the duration of the season. The fact that the Brewers are facing a left-hander in this one only fueled that fire. William Contreras will function as the club’s designated hitter in his place while Gary Sanchez starts behind the dish.

This is against a right-hander, too. Yelich, though, is 3-for-28 with an 8/0 K/BB this month, dropping him down to .232/.316/.371 for the season. It hasn’t cost him any playing time yet, but one wonders if it might once Sal Frelick comes off the injured list.

Yelich got the Brewers on the board with an RBI double in the third inning that helped set up a three-run inning against Pirates’ starter Paul Skenes. He chipped in a stolen base too, his fourth in 15 games since the All-Star break. His bat has been ice cold since then with a .646 OPS, so it’s nice to see him contribute in other ways and hopefully get himself off the schneid.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy told reporters they’re moving Yelich down in an effort to generate a spark and get things trending in a different direction. It’ll be Jake Bauers moving up to the third spot in front of cleanup hitter William Contreras to face Pirates starter Jared Jones. Yelich has been ice-cold since last month’s All-Star break, hitting .192 (10-for-52) with one homer in 13 games.

The Brewers have routinely used Sunday as a day of rest for Yelich in an effort to keep him healthy and fresh for the duration of the season. Jake Bauers will function as the team’s designated hitter in his place and will bat fifth against Walbert Urena and the Angels on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles.

Yelich gets a break with rookie southpaw Zac Thornton toeing the rubber for New York in this one following eight consecutive starts at DH. It’ll be William Contreras getting a night off from the catching duties with Gary Sánchez behind the dish.

The Brewers continue to mix in plenty of off days for their 34-year-old slugger to make sure that he stays healthy for the duration of the season. Jake Bauers will serve as the designated hitter in his place on Thursday while Andrew Vaughn draws a start at first base and will bat sixth against Cardinals’ right-hander Andre Pallante.

Yelich’s second double broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh for what proved to be the final run of the game. The Brewers also beat the Cardinals 4-3 last night. For Yelich, it’s his first game with three hits since May 26 and his first game with multiple extra-base hits since May 18. He entered the day in a 5-for-47 slump that had dropped his OPS to .700.

Yelich got the Brewers to within a run when he took Merrill Kelly deep for a two-run blast; his sixth of the season. The 34-year-old has his first homer of July after going deep just once in the previous month. Yelich doesn’t have the same type of pop he once did, but it seems unlikely that he won’t go through a power surge at some point this summer. He definitely needs one.