Yelich Benched for NLCS Opener as Brewers Load Up on Righties Against Skubal

The Milwaukee Brewers will open the National League Championship Series without one of their most recognizable bats. Manager Pat Murphy left Christian Yelich out of the lineup for Game 1 against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night, opting for a righty-heavy attack against Tarik Skubal, arguably the best left-hander in baseball. Andrew Vaughn starts at designated hitter and bats fifth in Yelich's place, while Luis Lara gets the nod in right field over Sal Frelick, who had started the final three games of the Division Series. The decision is a pure matchup play: the Brewers are betting on the platoon edge against the Dodgers' deadline ace, who posted a 2.61 ERA in 10 starts down the stretch and allowed one run over six innings with seven strikeouts in his NLDS start against Atlanta. The Dodgers counter with Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and a slumping Shohei Ohtani, who has been moved to cleanup after going 2-for-13 in the NLDS. The Brewers send Cy Young frontrunner Jacob Misiorowski — 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA and the fastest pitch of the season at 105.5 mph — to the mound against Skubal in a heavyweight pitching duel. The Brewers made no roster changes for the series, and the roof at American Family Field is expected to be open for the 7 p.m. CT first pitch on Fox.