Despite a bruised right hand, Christian Yelich proved his worth. The Milwaukee Brewers’ designated hitter, named National League Player of the Week before Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, returned to the lineup and continued his streak with a solo home run in the third inning, propelling the Brewers to a 3-2 victory.
Yelich exited Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies during the third inning after being hit by a Ranger Suárez sinker in the first inning. After X-rays came back negative, the 2018 National League MVP braced himself to make sure he wouldn’t have to take a day off.Sore hand or not, he connected two balls tonight. So, he’s living up to his Player of the Week honor.
Pat Murphy
Yelich is a fundamental reason why the Brewers have won eight consecutive games. He has a nine-game hitting streak, the second-longest in the majors, and is batting .450 (18 for 40) with six home runs and 14 RBIs. It’s the sixth time Yelich is the National League Player of the Week, but the first since April 2019. He had three home runs last week, including his first walk-off with a grand slam on May 27 against the Boston Red Sox. Yelich extended his hitting streak when he connected on a full-count slider from Brady Singer, sending it 417 feet to center field and in front of the batter’s eye.I worked on it the rest of the game (yesterday), did some things on the flight (from Philadelphia to Cincinnati) and got in early today. It was fine. Once I knew it wasn’t broken, it was like, yeah, we’ll go back out there. It’s something we all take pride in, showing up for each other and being able to play.
Christian Yelich
Yelich also hit a ball to center in the sixth inning that looked like it could drop for extra bases, but Cincinnati’s TJ Friedl made a spectacular catch. The 33-year-old player is a two-time National League batting champion, but missed 81 games last season due to a lower back injury. Yelich was batting .184 on May 21, but has increased his average by 49 points during his streak. He has 13 home runs on the season, which ranks him eighth in home runs in the National League.It was a 3-2 count, not really knowing what was going to happen there. He threw a couple sliders that I swung at, so I knew there was a possibility it was coming.
Christian Yelich
I know he’s worked on it. I mean, he takes it very seriously. He’s been doing it for a long time. He feels that responsibility towards his teammates. He never gives himself enough credit.
Pat Murphy
While Yelich is on one of his best streaks in six years, he is trying to keep his focus on the present.
Each year is its own year, they are all different. You just try to stay focused on your work on a day-to-day basis. You know, you forget the previous day, whether it’s good or bad, and you focus on what you want to do and your approach that day. You stay focused and put on the blinders.
Christian Yelich
