The Milwaukee Brewers had Los Angeles Dodgers superstar right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the ropes, and Christian Yelich did the honors.
Following a remarkable 12-pitch walk from Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers that loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the third inning of Game 2 of the NLCS, DH Yelich smacked a two-run single to center field, which gave Milwaukee the lead. It also resulted in Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulling Yamamoto, who had thrown 74 pitches.
The Brewers went on to win the game, 7-4, taking a 2-0 series lead on the Dodgers.
“I was preparing on deck to be in that situation. The deeper that at-bat (Bauers’ 12-pitch walk) went, I had a feeling he was getting on base whether that was going to be a walk or a hit. You just want to make sure that you have a quality at-bat following that. Don’t leave the zone. Make sure that you’re swinging at a good pitch,” Yelich said in an interview on the MLB on FOX Postgame show when asked about his go-ahead hit in the third.
“I wasn’t sitting on anything. I just saw it was a good pitch to hit and tried to put a good swing on it.”
Yelich has been raking this postseason.
Through Milwaukee’s six games this October, Yelich has tallied seven hits, two of them coming on Monday afternoon, and driven in three runs, while boasting a .368/.455/.421 slash line.
Yelich was limited to 118 games in the regular season due to groin and back issues, respectively, and finished with a career-low .315 on-base percentage and 0.1 wins above replacement, and a career-low .235 batting average across a full season (the 2020 MLB year was just a 60-game regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic); the two-time batting champion also missed extensive time in 2024 due to a back injury.
With that said, Yelich totaled 29 home runs and 103 RBIs in 2025. Barring injury, the now-34-year-old Yelich has been Milwaukee’s primary designated hitter over the last two seasons. Yelich, a three-time Silver Slugger and All-Star, won 2018 National League MVP honors and was the runner-up for the award in 2019.
As for the rest of the Brewers’ Game 2 offense, they got RBI singles from William Contreras in the first and sixth innings and a solo home run from the catcher in the fifth. Elsewhere, Bauers and second baseman Brice Turang each had RBI singles in the eighth. Meanwhile, following four innings from rookie right-hander Logan Henderson, Milwaukee got five perfect innings of relief – no baserunners allowed – from its bullpen.
“He’s done a great job with our pitching staff all year,” Yelich said about Contreras. “He keeps everybody going. He makes sure everybody is ready to compete every day. He plays with that passion and flare, and we’ve loved having him, and he’s been great for us.”
Game 2 marked Contreras’ second three-hit performance of the 2026 postseason and his third home run this month. Contreras, a two-time Silver Slugger and three-time All-Star, boasts a .391/.481/.783 slash line this postseason. In the regular season, he blasted 18 home runs and drove in a career-high 94 runs, which led MLB catchers.
Game 3 of the NLCS is on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium (8 p.m. ET on FS1).
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