HOENIX (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich took a step forward Saturday in his return from back surgery by playing in a game for the first time since July.
Yelich was the designated hitter for the Brewers’ 9-4 Cactus League victory over the Texas Rangers. The 2018 NL MVP went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and an RBI.
“It was just cool to be out there, honestly, because it’s a long road from the last time I did it,” Yelich told reporters afterward. “Honestly, that was a victory in itself for me today.”
The 33-year-old Yelich had last played in a game on July 23. He went on the injured list later that month and underwent a diskectomy in August to remove the damaged part of a disk in the spine.
His back issues ended a season in which Yelich earned his third All-Star Game selection. Yelich batted .315 with a .406 on-base percentage, .504 slugging percentage, 11 homers, 42 RBIs, and 21 steals in 73 games. He was leading the NL in batting average and on-base percentage at the time of his injury.
Yelich expects to be available for the start of the season. His presence in Saturday’s lineup was a step in the right direction.
“I honestly didn’t care what the results were at all,” Yelich said. “Just find out where you’re at and go from there. I thought there were some good things, some things that weren’t too good. But it was basically how I expected it to be, and my body felt good. That was pretty much the biggest concern of the day.”
Credit AP Photo
