MILWAUKEE – It’s been nearly a month since Brewers manager Pat Murphy asked rhetorically about slumping star Christian Yelich, “Where would you want me to hit him, seventh?”
That’s precisely where Yelich was penciled into Milwaukee’s original starting lineup on Tuesday against the Pirates at American Family Field, before a last-minute change bumped him back up to fifth. That adjustment was prompted by first baseman Jake Bauers being scratched from the lineup with abdominal soreness.
Either way, it marked the first time that Yelich started a game batting below the cleanup spot this season. He has not started a game batting below the five-hole since 2015 with the Marlins.
“He’s our leader. He’s a pro,” Murphy said when the original lineup was posted. “He’s not getting results. Let me state this clearly: No one cares more about getting it right and about the Milwaukee Brewers and upholding the standards they have created for themselves, whether it’s realistic or not in terms of what people see on paper. Yeli is incredible. I respect him. …
“I didn’t ask him if it was OK. I just said, ‘This is what I decided, and it was only me. I didn’t ask the coaches. I didn’t ask anybody. I just said, ‘Hey, this is what’s best for the team.”
Murphy did discuss the proposed change with Yelich as the Brewers, holding the best record in Major League Baseball going into the night, seek to spark a lineup that ranks fifth in the Majors in runs scored this season with a blend of plate discipline, contact and speed, but has gone quiet at the top. Going into Tuesday night, Milwaukee’s Nos. 1-4 hitters had combined for a .633 OPS since the All-Star break, which ranked 28th of MLB’s 30 teams.
Thus the drop for Yelich, whose OPS slipped under .700 for the first time this season with an 0-for-4 night Monday. He went into Tuesday night with three singles in his previous 25 at-bats.
The 34-year-old has shown he still has plenty left in the tank, making the All-Star Game starting lineup in 2024 before a season-ending back surgery, then returning in ‘25 to hit .264/.343/.452 with 29 home runs and 103 RBIs. But after posting a 1.018 OPS in his first 10 games this season, it’s been a struggle.
What told Murphy it was time to shake up the lineup?
“I think there comes a point that you want something to change, you want something to spark, you want a different direction,” Murphy said. “Sometimes you contemplate it for a while and then there’s a moment that happens – I can’t tell you exactly, but there’s a moment that happens. I could tell you, but that’s too personal. But there’s a moment you say, ‘You know what? This is what’s best for the team.’”