Most of offense comes from a familiar name - Christian Yelich.
The M-V-P chants have never been louder.
Miller Park fans were again roaring their favorite three letters of September and October when outfielder Christian Yelich – the odds-on favorite to win the National League MVP award next month – homered to account for the bulk of his team’s runs Thursday in Game 1 of the NL Division Series, a 3-2 Brewers win over the Colorado Rockies in 10 innings.
Yelich parked a first-pitch changeup from Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela over the wall in left center to stake the Brewers to a 2-0 lead in the third inning.
He also trotted home with the winning run in the 10th when Mike Moustakas delivered the game-winning single, four batters after Yelich drew a tough walk that began with reliever Colorado Adam Ottavino working ahead, 0-2.
“You saw it again tonight, just the quality at-bat,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “He's such a difficult out … he's down 0-2 to Ottavino and somehow manages to work his way back.
“And obviously, the home run was huge.”
Yelich’s torrid second half of the 2018 season has been well documented. His .770 slugging percentage in the second half was the 14th-best second-half mark in MLB history according to Baseball Reference (minimum 250 plate appearances). It's a list populated at the top by Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth. Bonds’ mark of .832 in 2004 represents the last time any player had a mark higher than Yelich’s.
Yelich’s second-half OPS (1.219), WAR (5.4) and on-base percentage (.449) are all the best second-half marks in club history.
He did more damage in the team’s NL Central tiebreaker against the Chicago Cubs, driving in a run and finishing with three hits. He was on base another four times Thursday.
“The last week or so has felt very similar,” Yelich said. “We’ve been playing some big games down the stretch, and this place was packed this past weekend for the last homestand of the year. You’re just trying to slow it down. Obviously, you have the nervous energy before the first pitch and the first inning, and after that, it’s back to baseball.”
Yelich’s first postseason game will be remembered for the blast, but the walk was just as important. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and was standing on third base when Moustakas – himself down 0-2 at one point to Ottavino – came through with the winning single.
“It’s loud, the atmosphere in there is crazy, and he’s got great stuff,” Yelich said. “He’s one of the best relief pitchers in baseball this year. You’re just trying to find a way, find a way to get on, make something happen and put some pressure on him.”
Yelich also became a strange out on the base paths in the sixth. After a leadoff infield single, Ryan Braun smoked a ball to right field that glanced off the glove of first baseman Ian Desmond. Believing the ball had been caught, Yelich instinctively retreated to first base, and several moments passed before he realized the ball had reached right field. He became an easy force-out when Carlos Gonzalez threw the ball to second base.
“That was a crazy play right there,” Yelich said. “Myself and the first base coach, we both thought he caught it. I saw the ball go in his glove, and it didn’t happen. He did a great job holding the tag on me like he did catch it. He was able to deke me. It’s one of those freak plays that’s unfortunate, but thankfully, it didn’t cost us.”
He also had a close view of a ball belted down the right-field line by Charlie Blackmon in the ninth with two runners on – initially ruled a ground-rule double that would have put runners at second and third with nobody out in a 2-1 game. Instead, replay showed the ball was foul, and Blackmon returned to the batter’s box.
Blackmon later drove in the run anyway, and the Rockies still rallied to tie the game, but the situation was less dire.
“I saw it land and it looked like it was foul, but you can’t really tell,” Yelich said. “I was going to play it live, but it ended up popping over the fence.
“It was literally this far from the chalk line,” he added, holding up two fingers. “…They always say it’s a game of inches, and today it really was.”