The Milwaukee Brewers carry a one-game advantage into Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers after a hard-fought 2-1 victory in the opener.
With a chance to seize a 2-0 series lead on Monday, the club has made a notable lineup adjustment that brings a veteran presence back into the starting nine.
Christian Yelich, who sat out the starting lineup in Game 1, will serve as the designated hitter and bat fifth against the Dodgers.
Yelich’s return means Andrew Vaughn comes out of the order.
The Brewers’ full lineup, as shared by Underdog MLB, places Jackson Chourio in left field, Brice Turang at second base, William Contreras behind the plate, Jake Bauers at first base, Yelich as the DH, Garrett Mitchell in center field, Carlos Pratt at shortstop, Sal Frelick in right field, and David Hamilton at third base, with Logan Henderson on the mound to start.
The arrangement keeps the top of the order intact while inserting Yelich’s left-handed bat into a key middle-of-the-order spot for a game that could shift the series momentum.
Although he did not start in the series opener, Yelich has produced solid results across the postseason so far.
In four playoff games, he has collected five hits, including a double, driven in one run, and stolen two bases, posting a .357 batting average.
Those contributions have come after a regular season in which he appeared in 118 games and finished with 12 home runs, 59 RBI, and a .235 average.
The gap between his modest regular-season numbers and his early October production suggests he has found a better rhythm when the stakes are highest.
For a Brewers team that has already shown it can win a low-scoring contest against the Dodgers, Yelich’s presence offers both experience and another left-handed threat in the middle of the order.
Milwaukee’s Game 1 win demonstrated that the club can compete without him in the starting lineup, yet reinserting him for Game 2 gives manager Pat Murphy another established bat against a Dodgers pitching staff that will look to even the series.
Whether Yelich continues the elevated contact and baserunning he has shown in the playoffs could help determine how much control the Brewers can exert before the series shifts venues.
With Henderson starting and the lineup now including the veteran slugger in the DH role, Milwaukee enters Game 2 positioned to press its early advantage.
