Milwaukee Brewers Make Sudden Christian Yelich Decision Before Reds Series

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MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JULY 18: Christian Yelich #22 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates with teammates in the dugout after scoring in the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at American Family Field on July 18, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)

The Milwaukee Brewers currently boast the best record in the major leagues at 91-56 overall entering Friday night’s series opener against the Cincinnati Reds.

Milwaukee is coming off a three-game sweep over the Chicago Cubs, which they wrapped up on Wednesday with an 8-6 win.

Ahead of Friday’s opener, which will feature Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott against Brewers righty Dustin May, Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy made a few notable changes to the lineup since the last time they took the field.

Brewers Make Sudden Christian Yelich Decision

Despite hitting a three-run homer on Wednesday, Murphy is electing to stick to his platoon plan with veteran slugger Christian Yelich when facing tough lefties.

He will be out of the starting lineup for the series opener, and Andrew Vaughn will step in as the team’s designated hitter, which is where Yelich has started for the most part this season.

Via Underdog MLB: “Brewers 9/11 J. Chourio LF B. Turang 2B W. Contreras C A. Vaughn DH J. Bauers 1B L. Lara RF C. Pratt SS G. Mitchell CF J. Ortiz 3B D. May SP.”

Brewers 9/11

J. Chourio LF
B. Turang 2B
W. Contreras C
A. Vaughn DH
J. Bauers 1B
L. Lara RF
C. Pratt SS
G. Mitchell CF
J. Ortiz 3B

D. May SP

— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) September 11, 2026

Looking at Yelich’s 14th MLB Season

Currently in his 14th year in the majors, Yelich remains a very productive player despite taking a step back from his usual sample size.

He’s in his ninth year with the Brewers and has appeared in 106 games, where he’s logged 398 at-bats and recorded 62 runs, 96 hits, 11 home runs, and 53 RBIs, while slugging .392 with a .712 OPS.

Brewers Right Now

Milwaukee is 6-4 in its last 10 games and has a 9.5-game lead in the NL Central with just 15 regular-season games remaining.

They also hold a 1.5-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers for the No. 1 overall seed in the National League, and they’ll finish out the regular season with series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, and St. Louis Cardinals.