After falling behind 4-0 early in the ballgame, Mitchell completed the Brewers’ epic comeback with a 409-foot (105.2-mph EV) solo shot off of left-hander Tanner Scott in the sixth inning, giving the Brewers their first lead at 5-4. That would be all the offense that they would need. The 28-year-old outfielder finished the night 1-for-4 with his one hit being one of the biggest hits of the Brewers’ entire season. Next up, a matchup against either the Rays or Guardians in the World Series.
The league’s top two seeds will meet in the NLCS, with the Brewers getting home-field advantage over the Dodgers. Even bigger than his offensive contribution tonight was Mitchell taking away a two-run homer from Manny Machado in the eighth. He finished the series 4-for-15.
Mitchell had missed each of the team’s previous two games due to tightness in his neck. The injury was termed precautionary from the start and he’s right back out there in center field and batting seventh against Orioles’ southpaw Cade Povich on Friday evening.
Mitchell was scratched from Wednesday’s game with neck tightness. The Brewers said it was precautionary, and they are resting many starters on Thursday, like Christian Yelich and William Contreras, so it’s too early to know if this injury will actually be a concern for Mitchell. Luis Lara will start in center field on Thursday with Sal Frelick playing right field and batting seventh.
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.
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 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.
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.
Mitchell got his on a day where the rest of the Brewers’ lineup was mostly shut out. The double was his seventh extra-base hit since the start of July and he ripped it 112 mph. He had another batted ball at 111 mph in this one and is completely locked in at the plate right now with a sensational .993 OPS over his last 30 games.
Mitchell opened the scoring in the contest as he ambushed a first-pitch cutter from Jose Cabrera for a 435-foot (111.8-mph EV) two-run shot in the second inning. That would be his only hit in four at-bats on the night. For the season, the 27-year-old outfielder is slashing .265/.362/.462 with eight long balls, 42 RBI and six stolen bases in 272 plate appearances.
Mitchell didn’t start against a lefty, but he entered in the ninth, only to grab his leg and struggle through his one at-bat. Fortunately, it seems like he’ll be fine going forward.
Both Mitchell and Brice Turang went 2-for-3 with a homer in the contest, while everyone else on the Brewers finished 0-for-22. Mitchell’s homer off Hunter Gaddis left his bat at 111.8 mph and projected at 440 feet. Consistent contact might forever elude him, but that’s the kind of thing he can do when he connects. He’s worth playing in mixed leagues while healthy and starting regularly.
Mitchell probably should get more days off than most regulars, just because of his injury history, but with the way he’s performing, he deserves to be ahead of Sal Frelick in line for starts when Jake Bauers is playing the outfield for the Brewers. He’s hitting .251/.355/.415, giving him 156 points of OPS over Frelick, who is at .229/.303/.310.
Mitchell figured to be in line to lose a fair amount of playing time after Christian Yelich and Andrew Vaughn came off the IL, but he’s put together a well-timed hot streak to remain in the lineup. He’s batting .333 with two homers and five walks in his last 13 games.
