The visiting Milwaukee Brewers likely will be without a key member of their lineup when they face the Chicago Cubs in the rubber game of their three-game series on Wednesday afternoon.
Milwaukee outfielder Christian Yelich left the 1-0 win against the Cubs on Tuesday evening with back tightness.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy said the injury was “concerning” and could lead to a stint on the injured list.
Yelich, the 2018 National League MVP, is hitting .315 with 11 home runs and 42 RBIs. He has struggled with back problems since the 2015 season.
Yelich’s loss will put extra pressure on a lineup that has combined for just two runs in the series.
Chicago won the series opener 3-1 on Monday.
Brewers second baseman Brice Turang singled home the only run of the game on Tuesday, ending an 0-for-11 stretch at the plate.
Turang’s average had dipped to .267 entering Tuesday after he came into the month hitting .292.
“Just trying to drive the ball through the middle of the field and being on top and hitting low line drives,” Turang said. “It feels good. I want to win. You play this game to win, and so it feels good. We won tonight, and we’ve just got to move on to (Wednesday).”
The Brewers had not named a starting pitcher for the series finale as of Tuesday night.
The Cubs made their move up the standings about this time last season, but still came up a game short of a National League wild-card spot.
Chicago is 49-54 after 103 games and 4 1/2 games back of the final NL wild-card spot. They would have to pass up three teams along the way.
A year ago, the Cubs were 52-51 after 103 games and seven games into an eight-game winning streak, which moved them over .500 for the first time since early in the season.
“We’re in a very similar situation as we were last year,” Cubs left-hander Justin Steele said. “We really believe in the group we’ve got in there. It’s a lot of the same guys from last year and we made some additions, so I’d say we’re better on paper. We’ve just got to put wins in the column.”
Steele (2-4, 3.07 ERA) is scheduled to start the series finale for Chicago. He is coming off his worst outing in two months.
Steele allowed five runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings of a 5-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday. It was his shortest outing since May 11, and it broke a streak of seven straight quality starts.
“Obviously when you’re in a groove, you would like to just keep building,” Steele said. “There’s days when you’re pitching and things are going well, you just want to go ahead and log all your innings in that start.”
Steele said he struggled with his four-seam fastball and sinker during the early innings against the Diamondbacks.
“Wasn’t quite getting the four-seam in on the righties like I was wanting to,” Steele said. “Leaving it a little bit over the plate, giving them a chance to do their job and put the barrel on the ball.”
–Field Level Media
