After the Milwaukee Brewers acquired Andrew Vaughn last year, he quickly became their everyday first baseman, hitting .308 with an .869 OPS with the Brewers in 64 games.
This year, he was expected to be the everyday third baseman, but a hand fracture in Game 1 of the season opened the door for Jake Bauers. Bauers was too good to be taken out of the lineup, and Vaughn's playing time was decreased. Still, he had 288 at-bats, hitting .306 with a .834 OPS.
Vaughn has played well against both righties and lefties, and Pat Murphy has found ways to get him in the lineup. Bauers has been elite against southpaws and righties, so he plays every day. The Brewers, however, use him in right field to get Vaughn in at first base. However, despite a lefty on the mound for Game 1 of the National League Division Series, Vaughn is on the bench.
Bauers has been dealing with a knee injury and is not really an elite outfielder. The Brewers are seemingly not comfortable starting him in right field right now, and have Luis Lara out there in Game 1. With Bauers at first base because he's banged up, Vaughn would only be able to start at designated hitter. However, the Brewers are starting Christian Yelich there, despite his struggles this year.
Yelich is hitting .235 with a .692 OPS this year. The former MVP has a .610 OPS against left-handed pitching. Vaughn is hitting .336 with a .938 OPS against lefties. Starting Yelich over Vaughn in a postseason game seems like a mistake.
"I don't think there's calculus involved in that," Murphy said of the decision to start Yelich over Vaughn at designated hitter. "I think Yeli's career speaks for itself. What he means to this team speaks for itself. He's had success against Ray. He's swinging the bat good this last seven or eight days."
Yelich is 4-for-16 against Robbie Ray in his career with one double and one RBI. Vaughn is 3-for-17 in his career against Ray.