The Brewers Lost Their Best Hitter, and Had Their Best Offensive Month of the Season

Hours after his three-hole hitter underwent season-ending back surgery, Pat Murphy was asked about the ripple effects Christian Yelich’s absence could have on his remaining hitters.

“They feel it,” Murphy said of the pressure imparted by losing a lineup cornerstone. “You can see it every once in a while, where they’re trying to [force] it.”

He steered the rest of his answer down a familiar road. Murphy likes to strip away the noise and boil his team’s mentality down to the fundamentals, no matter the context. It’s a reason why the Brewers have thrived in the face of adversity all season.

“Our game works in order,” he said. “What I mean by that is, yeah, you want to be the guy to get the big hit, but if the game deals you a ball seven inches away, you got to meet it halfway and say, ‘Okay, thank you. Ball four.’ It’s really tough on those guys to not take on more than they can and just stay within themselves.”

If the results are any indication, Brewers hitters have brushed aside potential added pressure and continued to meet the game halfway.

Yelich last played on Jul. 23. In his absence, the Brewers have gone 22-13, and just concluded a 19-9 showing in August. The club is now a season-high 24 games above .500, and owns the highest run differential in baseball.

August also happened to be Milwaukee’s best month of the year, offensively. It finished third in baseball in runs per game (5.57) and fourth in OPS (.786). The Brewers scored 10 or more runs in four games throughout the month, including a 10-run inning in Friday night’s 14-0 drubbing of the Reds.

The contributions came from throughout the lineup. Four Brewers with at least 50 plate appearances in August posted an OPS north of .900: William Contreras, Willy Adames, Jackson Chourio, and Gary Sánchez.

Contreras and Adames combined for 19 home runs. Chourio added five round-trippers and 14 extra-base hits, including his game-winning blast in the ninth inning in Milwaukee’s win Saturday evening. Sánchez continued to be an underrated part-time bat who seamlessly slots into the middle of the order.

Others have pitched in, too. Garrett Mitchell has five extra-base hits in his last seven games. Blake Perkins has 10 hits since returning from the injured list, just over a week ago.

August demonstrated that, while losing Yelich is a substantial blow, the Brewers still have a blueprint for success without his bat. Chourio has continued his post-May breakout and is now a force near the top of the lineup. Contreras and Adames have stepped up as middle-of-the-order veterans.

Yelich was at the center of the offense when healthy, but he was never its only impactful bat. Part of what’s made this year’s lineup more successful than past iterations is its balanced makeup, and the willingness of its members to pass the baton to the man behind them. Those attributes have remained present in Yelich’s absence.

“It can be scary,” Murphy said when Yelich’s season officially ended. “But you find a way.”