Turang returns to Brewers lineup after missing 4 games

MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers welcomed back a key piece ahead of Tuesday’s series opener against the Mariners at American Family Field.

Brice Turang, who missed all of Milwaukee’s four-game series against the Dodgers from Thursday-Sunday in Los Angeles, was in Tuesday’s lineup, leading off and playing second base.

Dealing with recurring pain in his left knee, Turang underwent an MRI scan in early August that showed no structural damage. But after the pain intensified during the Brewers’ Aug. 10-12 series in San Diego, Turang was held out for the entirety of the club’s series win in L.A.

He met his goal of being back in the fold on Tuesday, but the Brewers will have to be careful with their star second baseman.

“It's something we’ve got to manage,” manager Pat Murphy said. “We've got to manage his workload. We got to manage his pregame. He's a tireless worker pregame. He's, like, old school pregame, every BP, every ground ball session, extra BP, extra in the cage. We want to collaborate with him.”

Turang expressed an openness to those ideas. He said he discussed ideas with coaches and members of the athletic training staff related to limiting the number of swings he takes in the indoor batting cage on a daily basis, and occasionally limiting his on-field defensive work.

It’s a big adjustment for a player used to his routine.

“If that’s what they want, I’ll try it out,” Turang said. “I understand where they’re coming from, so I had no emotion towards it or anything. We’ll just try it out.”

With strong defense, a .266/.358/.408 slash line, 16 home runs and a team-high 75 RBIs, Turang’s 5.3 Baseball-Reference WAR ranks third among National League position players. Holding a 4 1/2-game lead in the NL Central, the Brewers will have to be careful with Turang to keep him healthy down the stretch and for what the club hopes is another deep postseason run.

They’re taking a similarly cautious approach with right fielder Sal Frelick, who visited Milwaukee on Tuesday in the midst of a rehab assignment and took batting practice on the field. Frelick, on the 10-day injured list with a strained right shoulder, had been alternating between right field and designated hitter duties for Triple-A Nashville in recent days, and will resume his rehab assignment in the next day or two at an affiliate to be determined.

“Sal needs to play a little bit more,” Murphy said. “We have to make sure that after he has an aggressive day of throwing, which he [had Sunday] and was fine, that it happens again the next day of aggressive throwing.”