Braun, Thames return; Yelich is off the DL

The banged-up Brewers took a big step toward getting healthier Tuesday by activating Christian Yelich from the 10-day disabled list and having Ryan Braun and Eric Thames feel good enough to return to the lineup against Cincinnati.

Yelich had been sidelined since April 5 with a strained right oblique that took more time to heal than originally thought. Braun had been bothered by lower back tightness and did not start the previous two games, and Thames sat out Monday after coming out of the game Sunday in New York with a slight groin issue.

The original plan was to activate Yelich for the game Wednesday afternoon against the Reds. But after reliever Jorge Lopez pitched three innings Tuesday night and would not be available again for a few days, the decision was made to option him to Class AAA Colorado Springs and remove Yelich from the DL.

Yelich did not start Tuesday night but was available off the bench.

"There were some things the last couple of days that everybody, including myself, wanted to check off," Yelich said. "Basically, going through a full day, making sure you could do that, and then coming back the next day and making sure everything was good.

"You need the time to make sure (the oblique) is good. The last thing anybody wanted was to be activated and then have to go back on (the DL) a day or two later. That's why we were a little more cautious with a couple more days beyond the 10, just to make sure we were good to go.

"It's definitely good to be back. I've been getting positive results (from the workouts), so I feel I'm ready to be back out there."

With Yelich out of the lineup and others in and out, including catcher Manny Piña, still on the DL with a calf strain, the offense has struggled to score runs on a consistent basis. After losing, 10-4, to the lowly Reds on Monday, the Brewers had a minus-19 run differential (7960), leaving them lucky to be only a game below .500 (8-9).

"We're getting healthier," manager Craig Counsell said. "Getting Christian back is really important. Yesterday was a day when we probably had four guys out of the lineup that were in our planned lineup for the first day.

"But that's a baseball season. It's going to happen. We've built depth to hopefully cover for that but there's always a limit to how much you can cover for that. There's going to be moments the rest of the season where we have to cover for that.

"It's always good to get healthier. You feel like we're getting healthier at this point."

Having said that, Counsell made it clear that injuries aren't the sole reason the offense has struggled. The Brewers were particularly woeful in their first eight home games, going 2-6 while scoring only 20 runs, compared to 48 by the opposition.

"We just haven't gotten going offensively yet, with a lot of guys," Counsell said. "I would point to that. We've had injuries but also we haven't swung the bats to our capability just yet.

"I think better approaches will lead to more runs. If you're not feeling good, it's tough to look like you have a good approach, because you're missing your pitch to hit, or you're swinging at a ball in the dirt. Overall, we need to ramp up pressure on the other team. Eventually, you break through when you keep putting pressure on the other team."

Nottingham starts: Catcher Jacob Nottingham, 23, who made his majorleague debut off the bench Monday night, followed that up with his first start behind the plate. Jett Bandy had started five consecutive games with Piña ailing before going on the DL, so Counsell gave Nottingham the chance to catch Junior Guerra.

Nottingham caught Guerra in the season opener for Colorado Springs.

"I think Guerra is the guy he is most familiar with," Counsell said. "The catcher's got a big job. They've got a lot to worry about. But we've got a day game tomorrow. It was going to be one of these two games as far as a recovery standpoint for (Bandy)."

Nottingham, who has several family members, including his parents, in town from California, was excited to get his first starting assignment.

"It's always big to get your first start," said Nottingham, who walked in both plate appearances in his debut. "I think it was big (to play some the previous evening). It helped the nerves catching (Lopez), somebody I was familiar with.”