Yelich, Cain setting tone in Brewers’ lineup
Ryan Braun, who knows a thing or two about hitting, marvels at the mechanics of Christian Yelich’s batting stroke.
“It’s such a pretty swing. That’s the swing you want to teach every kid who wants to play baseball,” said the Milwaukee Brewers leftfielder/first baseman, a hitting savant since breaking into the big leagues in 2007.
“He stays inside of the ball (with his swing). He’s staying inside of everything, giving himself a chance (to get a hit) every time up. It's a picture-perfect swing."
Braun was equally complimentary of Lorenzo Cain after the Yelich-Cain duo took apart San Diego’s pitching staff in the Brewers’ opening three-game sweep in San Diego. Expectations were high when the Brewers acquired the star outfielders within hours of each other on Jan. 25 but if the first three games were any indication, the dynamic duo will make a transformational impact on the team’s offense in 2018.
Cain and Yelich combined to go 15 for 28 (.536) in those three games, with four doubles, seven runs scored and six runs driven in. In essence, they formed a twoman wrecking crew.
“Both of them are off to phenomenal starts,” said Braun, no slouch himself with five RBI in the second game, including a decisive three-run home run in the ninth inning.
“They are setting the table for us, putting a lot of pressure on the opponents. Obviously, you can’t keep us this pace but I’m confident that they’ll set the tone for us all year.”
While many folks expected the Brewers to focus on starting pitching during the off-season, general manager David Stearns targeted Cain and Yelich because of their proven abilities to get on base and put consistent, professional at-bats on pitchers. The swing-and-miss Brewers had become too reliant on home runs to score and their prolific strikeout rates – MLB records in each of the last two seasons – were preventing the offense from reaching its potential.
Asked if the opening series was what the Brewers had in mind in acquiring Cain and Yelich, manager Craig Counsell said, “They both had great series… Cain’s at-bats in the series were absolutely phenomenal.”
It sounds trite but Yelich, 26, and Cain, who will be 32 next week, show the value of simply putting the ball in play. Too often last season, Brewers hitter struck out in situations in which putting the bat on the ball might have decided the game.
Cain had no strikeouts in 15 plate appearances in San Diego and Yelich whiffed just twice in 15 trips to the plate. Combined, they produced a .566 on-base percentage.
“That’s what happens when you put the ball in play,” Counsell said. “Some of the ground balls are going to go through. Some are going to be caught, some are going to go through.
“They are good hitters who know what they’re looking for and have great ability with two strikes to put solid swings on the baseball. In the first three games, it has shown up.”
Once they get on base, Cain and Yelich know what to do to continue to pressure pitchers. Cain stole three bases in the opening series in San Diego, and Yelich, with his giraffe-like legs, motors around the bases in deceptively speedy style.
“What I’ve seen is they’re run scorers,” Counsell said. “They’re going to score a lot of runs. At the top of the lineup, there’s hopefully going to be a lot of opportunities for them to score runs. Scoring from second on every single, balls in the gap, being able to score (from second), that makes a difference.”
In the first two games in San Diego, Cain and Yelich batted 1-2 atop the order. With Braun getting a breather in the series finale, Yelich batted second and Cain third, with Eric Thames getting a turn at lead-off.
No matter the lineup configuration, Counsell plans to keep Cain and Yelich in table-setting positions in the lineup, for obvious reasons. Yelich equaled his career high with five hits in the third game but afterward offered praise of Cain.
“Everything’s been on the barrel (of the bat),” Yelich said. “He has been locked in. He has been awesome. I’ve really enjoyed playing with him so far. We’ve been having a lot of fun.”