Shaw aiming to return to lineup Monday

April 30th, 2017

MILWAUKEE -- After getting soft tissue treatment all morning Sunday to help relieve the swelling in his right hand, Brewers third baseman said he expects to be back in the Brewers lineup for Monday's series opener in St. Louis.
Shaw was struck in the meaty part of his hand by a pitch in the first inning of Saturday's loss to the Braves and exited in the fifth. X-rays were negative.
"It obviously didn't feel good when it happened, but it slowly got worse," Shaw said. "At that point when I came off, it would have been more beneficial for someone else [to play]. The problem was gripping the bat. It was where the bat was sitting on my hand. Throwing was fine, swinging felt OK. It was the position of the bat knob on my hand.
"Hopefully it progresses like it did from last night into [Monday] morning, and we should be good."
Shaw started 22 of the Brewers' first 23 games and played in all 23 before beginning Sunday's series finale against the Braves on the bench.

Braves' Freeman sees a problem
Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman has made few friends at Miller Park this weekend, first hitting a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning of the Braves' series-opening victory, then complaining about the lighting inside the Brewers' domed home before the second game of the series Saturday.
"I think it's a bad-lit Little League field," Freeman told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I can't see anything here."
The newspaper noted that Freeman has had better results at Miller Park beginning in 2014, about the time the Brewers upgraded the lighting system. They have made tweaks since to further improve the lighting, which, like all ballparks, meets standards set by Major League Baseball.
But Freeman has a point, according to Shaw.
"I mean, it is a little darker here than it is in most places," Shaw said. "I still see the ball OK here, but I do get what he's saying. It is kind of dark in here compared to some places. Which, you would think in a dome it would be more bright, but for some reason -- I don't know what it is -- it does seem a tad dark. But I don't not see the ball well, so it's not something that I worry about."
The much bigger challenge, Shaw has learned like many players before him, is presented on sunny days during day games.
"Honestly, defensively it's worse than hitting," Shaw said. "When the sun creeps in and shines on the stands, I cannot see anything at third base. Ball off the bat, it's a good, like, 'Where's it at?' for a second."
Last call
will take an important step in his comeback from a right calf strain when he participates in agility drills on the field in St. Louis on Monday.
"He'll work up to the throwing; that's not going to be an issue," manager Craig Counsell said. "But the running and the agility and the health of the calf is first on our list of things we've got to get."