CHICAGO -- Here’s one from out of left field. Or, center field, as it were.
Brandon Lockridge was the Brewers’ starting center fielder for Game 3 of the National League Division Series.
Before Wednesday’s start in what could have been a potential postseason series clincher against the Cubs at Wrigley Field -- but was instead a 4-3 loss to force a Game 4 -- Lockridge hadn’t started a Major League game since Aug. 28 against the D-backs. He hadn’t taken an at-bat in a Major League game since Aug. 29. He was optioned to the Minors on Aug. 30 and spent the final month with Triple-A Nashville.
But the 28-year-old, acquired from the Padres when the Brewers unloaded left-hander Nestor Cortes at the Trade Deadline, was included on Milwaukee’s NLDS roster primarily -- it was thought -- for potential pinch-running situations and for late-inning defense. That has changed since Jackson Chourio tweaked his right hamstring in Game 1, the same hamstring that landed him on the injured list for most of August and opened opportunities for Lockridge, who hit .261/.308/.370 in 53 plate appearances for Milwaukee post-trade.
Chourio was able to start and play most of Game 2 before feeling something in his hamstring again and prompting a call for Lockridge as a defensive sub for the ninth inning. And while Chourio was back in the lineup for Game 3, so was Lockridge, getting the call over Blake Perkins, manager Pat Murphy said, in order to keep the switch-hitting Perkins available to help navigate Chicago’s bullpen moves behind their Game 3 starter, Jameson Taillon.
But Perkins, Murphy said, is “100 percent.”
“We put a lot of time into it, got a lot of research into it,” Murphy said. “Lockridge deserves a chance, and it gives us some flexibility in the middle of the game.”
Lockridge, meanwhile, was ready to make the jump from the bench to the lineup.
“Most of my big league experience has been a bench role like this so far,” Lockridge said. “Obviously right now [in the postseason], it's a little bit different situation. Leverage situations happen sooner in the game now. They've done a good job communicating, telling me to be ready early on. I'm as mentally exhausted with these games so far as I am if I played a game during the regular season.
“It's definitely just a different -- you're getting locked in at a different time now as opposed to regular season. But I'm excited for the opportunity to start tonight.”
Lockridge went 0-for-2 with a squeeze bunt attempt in the fourth inning. He was pinch-hit for by Isaac Collins in the seventh.
The Brewers made sure Lockridge was ready for this scenario starting with the day he was optioned to Triple-A Nashville at the end of August, telling him he had a good chance to be on a postseason roster. That mindset, Lockridge said, was critical over the final month as he trained with a focus on keeping his legs fresh and explosive, knowing they may prove his most important tool down the stretch.
“I knew if I was on this team, that’s probably going to be my main use,” Lockridge said. “I was able to lift a little more intensely, doing some explosive lower body stuff and spring work.
“Man, from the time I was drafted and got into baseball at the professional level, I’ve studied the Billy Hamiltons and the Rickey Hendersons and those guys. I can’t tell you the amount of hours I’ve spent watching their highlight reels. I’ve tried to visualize myself in those situations. There would be nothing greater than being an everyday starter in the playoffs, but you play the hand you’re dealt.”
In Game 3, Lockridge was dealt a hand he could play.
“Sending him to Triple-A crushed me. It really did, because he was great for us, and he helped us win games,” Murphy said.