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Brewers Leave Lefty-Crusher On Bench Against Robbie Ray In Favor Of Struggling Christian Yelich

After the Milwaukee Brewers acquired Andrew Vaughn last year, he quickly became their everyday first baseman, hitting .308 with an .869 OPS with the Brewers in 64 games.

By Baseball Now · Yardbarker

Published: Sunday, 4 October 2026 at 12:05 AM

Key Things to Know

The Brewers benched Andrew Vaughn in favor of Christian Yelich at designated hitter against Robbie Ray.
Baseball Now argues starting Yelich over Vaughn in Game 1 of the NLDS seems like a mistake.
Vaughn batted .336 with a .938 OPS against lefties this year, while Yelich posted a .610 OPS.

The Story in 60 Seconds

Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy chose to bench Andrew Vaughn in favor of Christian Yelich at designated hitter for Game 1 of the NLDS against left-handed pitcher Robbie Ray. Baseball Now argues that the decision seems like a mistake given the disparity in regular-season numbers against left-handed pitching.

Vaughn posted a .336 average and a .938 OPS against left-handers this season, compared to Yelich's .235 average and .610 OPS against southpaws. Murphy defended the move by citing Yelich's track record, leadership, and strong recent swinging over the past week.

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Brewers Leave Lefty-Crusher On Bench Against Robbie Ray In Favor Of Struggling Christian Yelich

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