Brewers news: Christian Yelich's broken streak, Jackson Chourio ties Ryan Braun, Game 4 starter

The Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres once again played a thrilling contest in Game 3 of their NLDS matchup, only this time the outcome favored the Padres. An excellent defensive performance was the main reason for San Diego's victory, but the Brewers certainly didn't do themselves any favors either, with another defensive miscue and wasted scoring options preventing them from completing the NLDS sweep.

However, even in the face of the Padres' improbable defensive display, and Milwaukee's numerous failed attempts to collect a game-changing hit, the Brewers still had a chance to win Game 3 in the final frame. As was the case during the regular season and in each of their first two postseason games, Pat Murphy's squad didn't give in, but rather fought to the final out and forced Padres' manager Craig Stammen to use more of his pitching staff.

Additionally, before the final scoreboard read 4-3 in favor of the Padres, there were several positive takeaways and notable milestones for Brewers fans to be encouraged by in Game 3. Here are two of those notable developments, as well as the latest on Pat Murphy's Game 4 starter plan.

Christian Yelich collects first postseason RBI since Game 7 of 2018 NLCS

Christian Yelich crushed a solo home run in the first inning of Game 7 of the 2018 NLCS, which ended up being the only run the Brewers scored in their crushing loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on the doorstep of a World Series appearance. Entering Tuesday night's Game 3 NLDS matchup against the Padres, that first-inning homer was Yelich's most recent postseason RBI. Yelich went 87 straight plate appearances in the postseason without collecting an RBI, but now that tough streak is behind him.

With the Brewers trailing by two runs in the top of the seventh, William Contreras and Brice Turang each collected two-out singles to give the Brewers a scoring threat with Yelich coming to the plate. Facing the flame-throwing Bragdley Rodriguez, Yelich laced a 107.2 mph liner over the head of Xander Bogaerts at shortstop, which brought Contreras home and cut the Padres' lead to just one.

The RBI-single not only snapped Yelich's frustrating streak, but it also continued what has been an impressive first three games of the postseason for the Brewers' captain. Yelich has four hits in 10 at-bats, two walks, a stolen base, and is absolutely scorching the baseball. In Game 3 alone, Yelich had three batted balls of 104.5 mph or harder, which were three of the four hardest-hit balls in the contest. The Brewers' veteran leader appears to be settling into a hot streak at the perfect moment.

Jackson Chourio ties Ryan Braun for the most postseason RBI in Brewers franchise history

Before Yelich's streak-breaking RBI in the seventh, Jackson Chourio had a record-tying RBI in the fifth. With the Brewers trailing by one run and runners on second and third, Chourio faced a difficult at-bat after Jason Adam entered the game. Adam fooled Chourio with two sliders out of the zone to start the at-bat, but the Brewers' star outfielder battled. On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Chourio hit a shallow fly ball to left field, which was caught by Dustin Harris. No one, including Harris, expected Cooper Pratt to tag up from third base, but that's just what the Brewers' rookie shortstop did. The element of surprise worked and Pratt slid into home safely to tie the game at two runs apiece.

The shallow sacrifice fly gave Chourio his 16th postseason RBI, which ties Ryan Braun for the most in franchise history. However, Chourio, who is still just 22 years old, reached the impressive milestone in 16 games, whereas Braun racked up 16 RBI in 27 postseason games. The RBI in Game 3 also brought Chourio to within one of Andruw Jones' record for the most postseason RBI before turning 23 years old.

Chourio's incredible postseason success through his first three seasons in MLB has truly been astonishing. Even in last night's game, despite going 0-for-4, Chourio hit the ball hard on several occasions and was robbed of extra bases in his first at-bat of the game. The Brewers' young phenom is clearly seeing the ball well at the plate, and his continued success will be key to Milwaukee's postseason run.

Pat Murphy doesn't officially name Game 4 starter, but cites Robert Gasser, Chad Patrick as possible options

After turning to Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson, and Dustin May in the first three postseason games, the question becomes: Who will the Brewers start in Game 4? Many fans expected to see Robert Gasser as the Game 3 starter, and the fact that he hasn't pitched to this point in the series suggests that he could get the ball in Game 4. However, according to Brewers.TV reporter Sophia Minnaert, Pat Murphy isn't yet ready to name his Game 4 starter.

According to Minnaert's report, Murphy cited both Gasser and right-hander Chad Patrick as options to start Game 4 tonight. The pair of Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, both of whom hit from the right side, as two of the top three hitters in San Diego's lineup, suggests that Patrick or even a right-handed opener like Antonio Senzatela could be the best option for Game 4, which figures to be something of a bullpen game for the Brewers. That's not to say Gasser won't cover multiple innings in the middle of the game, but limiting his exposure to Tatis and Machado seems wise.

The Brewers bullpen is in a strong place entering Game 4. JoJo Romero and DL Hall, who threw 30 and 29 pitches, respectively, in Game 3, will likely be unavailable for Game 4, but that leaves Senzatela, Kyle Harrison, Shane Drohan, Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby, and Trevor Megill as options to follow Patrick, Gasser, or whomever the Brewers elect to throw at the beginning of tonight's game.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow