Predicting the Brewers' starting lineup for Game 1 of the World Series

In just a few short hours, manager Pat Murphy will reveal the Milwaukee Brewers' Game 1 starting lineup for the 2026 Fall Classic. Opposing that lineup on the mound will be veteran right-hander Nick Martinez , who at age 36 will be making his World Series debut after signing a one-year, $13 million deal with the Tampa Bay Rays last off-season.

So far this postseason, only six Brewers have appeared in every game: Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, William Contreras, Jake Bauers, Garrett Mitchell, and Cooper Pratt. Christian Yelich did not appear in Game 1 of the NLCS, when the Los Angeles Dodgers started left-hander Tarik Skubal and came off the bench for Game 3 when southpaw Blake Snell started for Dave Roberts' squad.

Otherwise, Joey Ortiz and David Hamilton have split time at third base in a strict righty-lefty platoon thus far, while Sal Frelick and Luis Lara have shared right field. Frelick has started each game against a right-hander while the switch-hitting Lara has drawn the starts against southpaws. Andrew Vaughn, meanwhile, has primarily served as a pinch hitter, with his two starts coming at DH in place of Yelich.

With that in mind, let's examine how the Brewers lineup may look for Game 1 of the World Series.

Predicting the Milwaukee Brewers' starting lineup for Game 1 of the World Series

One of the early storylines this postseason was who would bat second behind Chourio. Turang, Yelich, and Bauers all filled the spot during the Padres series, but Turang held it in every game against the Dodgers. The Brewers' second baseman has now batted second in six of the Brewers’ eight playoff games this year, making him the likely choice to remain there.

That leaves who starts at third base and right field as the biggest questions. However, if recent history is to be believed, the presence of the right-handed Martinez on the bump answers that question. Martinez, who possesses an excellent changeup, is about as effective against lefties as he is against righties, but given the fact that Hamilton and Frelick have performed better than Ortiz and Lara in the postseason so far, the pair should still get the start against the right-hander.

As a result, we project the Brewers to take the field with the same lineup they used in Game 4 of the NLCS.

Predicted Brewers Game 1 World Series Lineup:

1. Jackson Chourio LF
2. Brice Turang 2B
3. William Contreras C
4. Jake Bauers 1B
5. Christian Yelich DH
6. Garrett Mitchell CF
7. Cooper Pratt SS
8. Sal Frelick RF
9. David Hamilton 3B

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