Brewers' Christian Yelich goes on the injured list with lower back strain

Milwaukee Brewers’ Christian Yelich looks on from the dugout during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Sunday, April 14, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich has gone on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain.

The move was announced Tuesday and is retroactive to Saturday. Milwaukee recalled utilityman Owen Miller from Triple-A Nashville to fill Yelich’s spot on the roster.

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich celebrates after hitting a home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

Yelich hasn’t played since leaving in the second inning of an 11-1 victory at Baltimore on Friday due to lower back discomfort.

“It’s not responding right now,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said before a Tuesday night game with the San Diego Padres. ”It’s not getting better.”

Yelich periodically has dealt with back issues over the last few seasons.

“He’s not feeling right, and he’s been through this before,” Murphy said. “We’ve got to get him right.”

Yelich, 32, was off to a blistering start before his injury. The 2018 NL MVP is batting .333 with a .422 on-base percentage, .744 slugging percentage, five homers and 11 RBIs in 11 games.

Thanks in part to his presence, the Brewers entered Tuesday’s action ranked second in the majors in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and runs per game.

Miller, 27, batted .261 with a .303 on-base percentage, five homers, 27 RBIs and 13 steals in 90 games for Milwaukee last season while playing first base, second base, third base, left field and right field. He was hitting .353 with a .414 on-base percentage in 13 games with Nashville this year.

“He’s kind of a Swiss army knife,” Murphy said. “He can do a lot of different things. It feels good to have a guy like that with us.”

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