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Milwaukee Brewers captain Christian Yelich is out of the starting lineup for Wednesday’s NLCS Game 3 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell, with Andrew Vaughn taking his place at designated hitter.
The Brewers enter Game 3 at Dodger Stadium with a 2-0 series lead after securing 2-1 and 7-4 victories at American Family Field. Although Yelich started Game 2 and drove in two runs, manager Pat Murphy has opted to start Vaughn against another left-handed pitcher.
USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale shared the Brewers’ Game 3 lineup Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, confirming the slugger’s absence ahead of the matchup.
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Brewers captain Christian Yelich kept out of the starting lineup with lefty Blake Snell on the mound for the Dodgers pic.twitter.com/GBmdsznAzF
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 14, 2026
The move follows Murphy’s Game 1 approach against Dodgers left-hander Tarik Skubal. He started Vaughn at designated hitter instead of Yelich, and the Brewers secured a 2-1 victory. Vaughn doubled in that contest, while Lara drove in the go-ahead run.
Furthermore, the regular-season splits support Milwaukee’s lineup construction. The lefty-slugger hit just .212 with a .610 OPS and two home runs in 130 plate appearances against left-handed pitching. By comparison, Vaughn hit .336 with a .938 OPS across 133 plate appearances against lefties.
The 34-year-old returned for Monday’s Game 2 and contributed two RBIs during the Brewers’ 7-4 win. Yelich remains available as a potential pinch-hitting option, although Murphy has not announced whether he will use him.
Meanwhile, Lara replaces Sal Frelick in right field after Frelick started Game 2. Milwaukee enters Wednesday holding a commanding 2-0 series lead over the back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. With two more victories, the Brewers would eliminate the defending champions and secure their first World Series appearance since 1982.
Game 3 begins at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, with Vaughn occupying the designated hitter spot and Yelich absent from Milwaukee’s starting lineup vs. Snell.
Related: Are Brewers disrespecting Christian Yelich by not starting him vs. lefties in NLCS?
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