Christian Yelich to Return to Brewers Lineup on Tuesday
By Sean Facey
The Milwaukee Brewers actually managed to win five of six games last week, despite NL MVP candidate Christian Yelich sitting out with a back injury.
Well, after sweeping the Pirates and taking two of three from the Rangers, Yelich will return to the lineup on Tuesday for Milwaukee's series-opening clash with the Minnesota Twins.
Christian Yelich, who has not started a game for the #Brewers in the last week due to lingering back issues, is expected to return to the starting lineup tomorrow. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) August 12, 2019
Yelich has been the heart and soul of the Brewers' offense this year. He's slashing .335/.427/.703 with 39 home runs and 84 RBI, while also swiping 23 bases. His 1.130 OPS is the top mark in all of baseball.
His back has been flaring up all season. It caused him to miss the Home Run Derby, which was very likely the right call, and has held him out of a handful of games this season.
Into today, here are your wRC+ leaders over the last 30 days
— Devan Fink (@DevanFink) August 12, 2019
1. Nelson Cruz - 232
2. Jose Altuve - 223
3. Yordan Alvarez - 219
4. Gio Urshela - 216
5. Yuli Gurriel - 205
6. J.D. Davis - 194
6. Mike Trout - 194
8. Keston Hiura - 190
9. Jorge Soler - 183
10. Christian Yelich - 181
With Yelich set to return, the Brewers will look to claw back into the top spot of the NL Central. They're currently in third and trailing the Cardinals by 0.5 games and sitting 2.5 games behind the division-leading Cubs.
With the Brewers on the outside looking in for the playoffs in the middle of August, they'll need him in the lineup every day if they want to make it back to October.