Pat Murphy's Game 3 batting order tweak changes Jackson Chourio's lineup protection

Under two hours remain before the Milwaukee Brewers will play their first road game of the 2026 postseason. After building a 2-0 series lead over the San Diego Padres with memorable victories in each of their first two games of this year's NLDS, the Brewers will go for the sweep of Craig Stammen's squad this evening, which would afford them four days of rest before the NLCS begins.

Right-hander Dustin May, who the Brewers acquired at the midseason trade deadline, is Pat Murphy's choice to start Game 3 after much deliberation among the fanbase regarding who would be the No. 3 starter after Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson. Opposite May will be right-hander Nick Pivetta, who spent much of the 2026 season on the IL with elbow issues, but has looked sharp since returning in early September.

With a right-hander on the bump for the Padres for the second straight game, Murphy is sticking with the same nine players that started Game 2, with one exception: Joey Ortiz will man the hot corner for the Brewers instead of David Hamilton. However, while Murphy's group of starters is nearly the same, the order in which they will bat in Game 3 is quite different from Game 2. Here's the lineup the Brewers will roll with in their first road playoff game tonight:

Brice Turang slides down to clean-up spot, Jake Bauers to protect Jackson Chourio in Brewers' Game 3 lineup

It's a brand-new lineup -- one the Brewers didn't use at any point during the regular season. The most notable change is Brice Turang's spot in the order. Turang hit second in each of the first two games, directly following the red-hot Jackson Chourio. In Game 1, Turang was followed by William Contreras, and in Game 2 it was Jake Bauers who followed the Brewers' second baseman in the three-spot. Tonight, however, Murphy is shuffling things around, with Bauers sliding up to the two-hole, Contreras batting third, and Turang sliding into the clean-up spot. Notably, Turang only batted fourth one time this year -- in the final game of the regular season on September 27 -- and went 1-for-4 with an RBI single in the Brewers' 6-4 victory.

Murphy noted in his pre-game press conference, as seen below in the video from Fox Sports Radio Wisconsin's Hunter Baumgardt, that there are a number of different factors that contributed to the decision to move Turang down in the lineup, but alluded to the fact that Chourio is "circled" by his opponents as someone they need to be careful with. Turang, who protected Chourio in each of the first two games, went hitless over the weekend despite finishing the regular season with a strong showing in September. Bauers, meanwhile, collected two singles and reached base three times in Game 1 and just missed a home run with a 106.6 mph flyout to right field in Game 2.

Murphy also talked a lot about matchups and how the Padres have pitched the Brewers hitters in Games 1 and 2 as reasons for the lineup change. The Brewers constantly think about potential late-game matchups and creating potential late-game pinch-hit opportunities for their big bench bats in high-leverage situations when constructing their lineup. Which brings us to the next lineup change.

The middle of Milwaukee's order is a rare string of three consecutive lefties: Turang, Christian Yelich, and Garrett Mitchell. The order of the latter two is flipped from Game 2, when Mitchell batted fifth and Yeli hit sixth. However, what remains the same is the fact that Yelich, the DH, is sandwiched between two left-handed hitters. In theory, if Stammen brings in a southpaw for the string of lefties, Murphy can pinch-hit Andrew Vaughn or Gary Sánchez for Yelich, without worrying about where either will play defensively.

That switch, which is brought on by the fact that the Brewers have a left-hander hitting fourth tonight, impacts the bottom of the order as well. Cooper Pratt, who batted eighth last night, breaks up the string of lefties by batting seventh tonight, which leaves Frelick in the eight-hole and Ortiz as the second leadoff.

The lineup ended up playing an important role in Game 2 -- had Murphy not put Chourio in the leadoff spot against the right-hander, something he didn't always do throughout the season, the Brewers' star outfielder wouldn't have had the opportunity to walk-off Mason Miller and the Padres. Tonight's change could have a similar impact, especially if Bauers' presence behind Chourio does force San Diego to give the latter better pitches to hit.

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