With less than three hours to go before the Brewers and Dodgers opened the NLCS, Pat Murphy made the kind of lineup call that tells you exactly how seriously Milwaukee is treating Tarik Skubal.
Christian Yelich, who has been scorching the ball lately, is starting Game 1 on the bench. Andrew Vaughn will open as the designated hitter instead, giving the Brewers a different look against the reigning back-to-back Cy Young Award winner.
That move comes with Milwaukee facing a left-handed ace and trying to gain any edge it can in an opener that carries plenty of familiar baggage. The Brewers are trying to flip the script after the Dodgers swept last year’s identical League Championship Series matchup, and this year’s path has left Murphy with more options. Milwaukee got through the Padres in four games in the NLDS, which gave the club three days of rest before the rematch with Los Angeles.
Misiorowski is set to start Game 1 for Milwaukee, and the Brewers believe that a more settled pitching plan gives them a better shot this time around. But Skubal complicates everything on the other side. Murphy had to decide how to construct his lineup against the lefty, and the first big call was sitting Yelich, at least at the start.
Murphy was asked about choosing Vaughn over Yelich, a move he did not make when Milwaukee faced left-hander Robbie Ray in Game 1 of the NLDS. Said Murphy on the lineup move, "It's about what's best for our team today.
It might not be the whole game, but it's what's best for our team today. You look at matchups and you look at history...and what it could bring."
The history part favors Vaughn more than Yelich in this specific spot. Yelich has just two career at-bats against Skubal and went 0-for-2 with one strikeout. Vaughn, who spent time with the White Sox and has faced Skubal 22 times, has five hits against him, all singles.
Said Murphy about Vaughn during his pregame, "This kid that's playing instead of Yelich [Vaughn] in the first part of the game, he's pretty good. And he's had a pretty good history against the guy pitching [Skubal]. That's what led to it."
Jake Bauers also remains a factor in Murphy’s thinking. His toe and shin injury has kept him from starting in right field, which the Brewers often did against left-handed pitchers this season.
That setup would have let Vaughn play first base and Yelich serve as the DH. Murphy explained it this way: "Then there's a guy named Jake Bauers, whose toe is broken, and he can't really get to the outfield.
He was playing some outfield, but we can't do that right now."
So Yelich begins on the bench, but that doesn’t mean he’ll stay there. Murphy made clear that he expects to use him later, and Yelich gives Milwaukee a major pinch-hit threat. His average exit velocity was 88.9 mph in the regular season, slightly below league average, but it jumped to 96.7 mph in the NLDS.
For now, though, Vaughn gets the first crack at Skubal, and Yelich waits as a possible late-inning weapon.
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The next stretch will help determine how realistic that path is, with more mound work ahead and a possible live batting practice session if his arm responds well. It has been a good October for Brewers storylines off the field too, with Pratt even getting rewarded by Coca-Cola after his NL Division Series celebration with Fanta, but Woodruff's recovery is the one that could actually reshape the roster if the Brewers need another arm in the months ahead. [Read more 🡒]