PHILADELPHIA -- The first two games of this weekend’s series at Citizens Bank Park couldn't have gone better for the Brewers, but Sunday’s 5-2 win in the finale got off to a bad start when Christian Yelich was hit by a pitch in his first plate appearance against Ranger Suárez.
Yelich took first base and remained in the game for the rest of the first inning, but the designated hitter was lifted before his second plate appearance, as the Brewers sent Eric Haase to the plate to pinch-hit for him in the third inning. The Brewers announced that Yelich was removed with a right hand contusion.
“It got me pretty good,” Yelich said. “It hit the knob a little bit, but just crushed the bottom of my hand also. It is what it is; that stuff happens. It just swelled up and made it tough to grip the bat.”
Manager Pat Murphy said Yelich would “probably be out” for Monday’s series opener in Cincinnati, but Yelich wasn’t ready to make any such pronouncements.
“I’ll be all right,” Yelich said. “I'll try to be there tomorrow, hopefully. It’s a grip thing; if you can grip, you can go.”
Haase took over the DH spot when he pinch-hit for Yelich in the third inning, but it was Jake Bauers -- pinch-hitting for Haase in the seventh -- who delivered the biggest hit, a two-run double that gave Milwaukee its first lead of the game.
Yelich is slashing .233/.317/.423 with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs in 57 games, with two of those homers coming Friday night in a win over the Phillies. He carried an eight-game hitting streak into the series finale, slashing .472/.513/.917 with five homers and 13 RBIs during that stretch.
“He's real sore; he couldn't squeeze the bat, so it will be a day-to-day thing,” Murphy said. “It’s not broken, thank God, but he’s rolling so well that I hate it for him that he's got to take a day off, but he probably will be out.”