The Milwaukee Brewers left Sal Frelick out of the starting lineup for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.
Luis Lara starts in right field instead as the Brewers face left-hander Tarik Skubal at American Family Field.
Frelick started the final three games of the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres as the right fielder. He sat on the bench in Game 1.
The 26-year-old went 3-for-9 during that series against San Diego.
In the regular season, Frelick batted .230 with a .295 on-base percentage and .319 slugging percentage. He hit four home runs, drove in 40 runs and stole seven bases over 111 games.
His OPS for the year finished at .614 after a stretch that included time on the injured list with a shoulder issue.
The Brewers’ lineup has Jackson Chourio in left field, Brice Turang at second base, William Contreras catching, Jake Bauers at first base, Andrew Vaughn as the designated hitter, Garrett Mitchell in center field, Cooper Pratt at shortstop, Lara in right field and Joey Ortiz at third base.
Jacob Misiorowski takes the mound for Milwaukee. The right-hander went 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA, 252 strikeouts and a 0.80 WHIP in 174 2/3 innings this season.
Los Angeles counters with Mookie Betts leading off at shortstop, Freddie Freeman at first base, Will Smith catching, Shohei Ohtani as the designated hitter, Teoscar Hernández in left field, Max Muncy at third base, Andy Pages in center field, Kyle Tucker in right field and Enrique Hernández at second base.
This series marks a rematch of the 2025 NLCS. The Dodgers swept the Brewers 4-0 last year before beating the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series.
Milwaukee posted the best record in the National League at 103-59. The Dodgers finished second at 100-62.
The Brewers won four of the seven regular season games between the clubs.
First pitch is set for 7 p.m. CDT. Games 1, 2 and 7 will air on FOX, while the remaining contests are scheduled for FS1.
Lara, a 21-year-old switch-hitter, batted .246 with a .311 on-base percentage, .325 slugging percentage and a .636 OPS in 61 regular-season games.
The winner of the series advances to the World Series to face the American League champion.
