If you expected the Milwaukee Brewers to enter the World Series without making any adjustments, you must not have been watching the team this season. Even after sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS and overcoming a red-hot Padres squad in the Division Series, manager Pat Murphy is always finding new ways to keep his opponents on their toes.
The Brewers released their batting order on Friday afternoon, just hours before first pitch. Their updated order will be as follows:
1. Jackson Chourio
2. Jake Bauers
3. Christian Yelich
4. William Contreras
5. Brice Turang
6. Garrett Mitchell
7. Cooper Pratt
8. Sal Frelick
9. David Hamilton
What should we take away from the Milwaukee Brewers' updated batting order for Game 1 of the World Series?
This new-look order should give the Brewers an interesting dynamic of staggering lefty and righty batters, likely in hopes of keeping Game 1 starter Nick Martinez, a righty, out of a consistent rhythm to begin the contest. By moving Contreras to fourth, it sets up Milwaukee's best home run hitter this postseason for a grand slam opportunity, should it arise. Meanwhile, Yelich at the third spot gives the Brew Crew a likely opportunity for some much-needed contact hitting early in the rotation.
It's far from surprising to see first baseman Jake Bauers taking such a firm position near the top of the batting order, as Bauers emerged as one of the most reliable offensive threats on the team, and frankly, in all of baseball. His ability to extend the pitch count and make contact persistently has been a thorn in the sides of pitchers everywhere, so this is likely Murphy's best attempt to extend Martinez's pitch count early.
Meanwhile, Turang slotting back into the fifth spot in the lineup makes sense given his inconsistent production thus far in the postseason. Through eight games, the 26-year-old is hitting just .222 with six hits to seven strikeouts. The good news, however, is that Turang turned a corner in the Dodgers series, logging hits in three of four hits, while scoring a run in each contest.
The end of the lineup should be of interest as well. All year long, Brewers fans grappled with questions over David Hamilton's place in the lineup, but through the postseason, he's certainly proving he belongs. Milwaukee is in serious need of some production late in the order, so all eyes will be on Hamilton, as well as Cooper Pratt and Sal Frelick, to carry that torch.
Overall, this is a wise move by Pat Murphy to make sure his lineup isn't identical to what Tampa Bay was expecting to see. Although the players are the same, a little shake-up in the order might force Martinez and the Rays' defense to think twice, which is all the Brewers can really ask for in a matchup of two teams that are this talented defensively.
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