Ultimately, the Milwaukee Brewers didn’t need Christian Yelich for what ended up being a stress-free, 7-1 victory over the San Diego Padres at American Family Field on Thursday afternoon, May 14.
Whether he’ll be available at the outset of the team’s two-city, six-game road trip that begins on Friday against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field remains to be seen, however.
“He felt much better today,” said manager Pat Murphy of Yelich, who went 0 for 4 on May 12 after being reinstated from a month on the injured list with a left groin strain and then was held out of Milwaukee’s 3-1 loss to the Padres on May 13 when his back began giving him trouble.
“We’ll find out a lot more tomorrow,” Murphy continued. “Tomorrow will be kind of a telling tale whether he needs a longer break. And he just feels awful about it because he’s so responsible to this organization. He cares so much and very unselfish.
“He’s pushing to get back, but we’re going to make sure that he’s OK because we want him for the majority of the season – not just these few games.”
Yelich’s back issues have been well-chronicled over the years, with the 34-year-old ultimately missing most of the second half of the 2024 season after undergoing surgery before he returned to play 150 games, hit 29 home runs and drive in 103 in a resurgent 2025.
The Brewers have spotted Yelich days off here and there for years now in an attempt to keep him feeling as good as possible physically, so to see this scenario play out at this point isn’t altogether unsurprising.
“He had the same thing last year, and if you talked to his doctor he’ll tell you the same thing,” Murphy said. “This is going to happen from time to time. Do you know anybody with back surgery that absolutely has no problems with their back?”
The Brewers and Yelich will reconvene prior to the series opener in Minnesota, assess where he’s at and move forward accordingly. Milwaukee travels to face the Chicago Cubs in a three-game series at Wrigley Field in the Central Division rivals’ first meeting in 2026.
“To keep him out seven games, then why not just do something else?” said Murphy. “Get somebody else here if it’s only going to be three games.
“So, we’ll see. I’m optimistic.”
Yelich is hitting .291 with a homer and 10 RBI in 16 games this season.
Luis Rengifo starting to come around a bit
Luis Rengifo made a nice play at third base to keep the Padres from grabbing a first-inning lead when he scampered into the hole to smother a hot shot off the bat of Gavin Sheets and threw over to first to strand a pair of runners.
He then gave Milwaukee a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the frame when he laced a two-run, bases-loaded single to center and then three innings later singled to center to drive in his third run of the game and stretch the Brewers’ lead out to 7-0.
Rengifo finished 2 for 4 on the day, giving him his third straight multi-hit game while raising his season average to .220 – the 29-year-old’s first time above the Mendoza Line since the opening days of April.
He’s also reached base in eight of the nine games he’s played in so far in May.
“Just focus,” Rengifo said when asked what the difference has been for him of late. “It’s a process the whole season. It feels good right now. It’s (tough) mentally, but you have to work every single time when you come to the field.
“It doesn’t matter what results you have – if you feel 100 percent you give everything.”
If there’s been a bright spot to the switch-hitting Rengifo’s game, it’s that he remains insanely tough for opposing pitchers to strike out with only 14 in 132 plate appearances (97th percentile in the major leagues).
But Rengifo is yet to homer, making Milwaukee one of just two teams to have none from a third baseman so far this season (Detroit is the other), isn’t hitting the ball hard (bottom-third barrel percentage, average exit velocity and hard-hit percentage) and is flashing slightly below average range at third.
No doubt, the Brewers were hoping for more when they signed Rengifo at the outset of spring training to be their primary third baseman.
But there’s still plenty of time for the eight-year veteran to build on what he’s put together here in this recent stretch.
DL Hall checks out OK
There was an anxious moment in the sixth when DL Hall motioned to the dugout for an athletic trainer to visit him on the mound.
After a few minutes of discussion, though, Hall proved to be no worse for wear and worked around a two-out walk issued to Gavin Sheets by striking out Ramón Laureano to put up a zero.
“He lost his breath a little bit,” Murphy said. “It happens sometimes. These guys go so hard and are sometimes so over-caffeinated and that kind of thing that things have happen.”
Hall reiterated Murphy’s diagnosis after the game, while also adding he hadn’t eaten as much as he normally does because it was a day game, and admitted he felt a little guilty not being able to pitch at least a second inning as Murphy went with Grant Anderson for the seventh.
But with the injuries suffered by the pitching staff so far this season, it wasn’t surprising to see the plug pulled on Hall at that point.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers back into wait-and-see mode with Christian Yelich’s back
Reporting by Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
