Brewers Game 3 Lineup vs. Padres: Surprise Change for Brice Turang

The Milwaukee Brewers will go for a National League Division Series sweep on Tuesday vs. the San Diego Padres.

Sep 26, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang (2) is greeted in the dugout after hitting a two run home run in the fifth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Milwaukee Brewers will look for a National League Division Series sweep on Tuesday night against the San Diego Padres and will do so with an interesting-looking lineup.

Ahead of Game 3 on Tuesday night, the Brewers announced their starting lineup and the biggest change came with second baseman Brice Turang, who is scheduled to bat fourth. If you're surprised to hear about Turang batting cleanup, it's because it doesn't happen often. In fact, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel pointed out that it's actually happened just twice before Tuesday's Game 3.

"Cleanup Brice Turang has only happened twice in his career," Hogg wrote. "Time to get wild in San Diego."

Here's the full lineup for Milwaukee.

Brewers vs. Padres Game 3 NLDS Lineup

Sep 26, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang (2) throws out St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker (not pictured) in the ninth inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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

Taking this show on the road

📺: FS1
📻: WTMJ#WinOurWay pic.twitter.com/rEbwMvfZk9

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) October 6, 2026

In Games 1 and 2, Turang batted second. So, he's dropping two spots and Bauers is climbing.

Turang's bat actually hasn't been going so far in the National League Division Series. Turang went 0-for-3 in Game 1 and followed up by going 0-for-4 in Game 2. It's a bit surprising to see him not clicking at the plate because he was red-hot to wrap up the regular season. From Sep. 11 through the regular season finale on Sep. 27, Turang slashed .377/.476/.698 with a 1.174 OPS, four home runs, 14 RBIs, five doubles and 12 runs scored in 15 games. The Brewers went how Turang did and went 12-3 over those 15 games.

This move to the cleanup spot puts him in an intriguing position against the righty Nick Pivetta. There's a lot of protection in the order around him with Contreras ahead and Yelich behind. Hopefully, enough that he's able to get a few pitches and make some hard contact.

The other big takeaway from the lineup is Ortiz being back in it, despite the fact that Pivetta is a righty. While breaking down things to avoid in Game 3, keeping Ortiz on the bench was one of the things we mentioned. While the matchup may not be perfect, Ortiz was one of the Brewers' best bats in the second half of the season. Plus, he is excellent defensively. Ortiz was out of the lineup in Game 2, but fortunately is back in the mix.

The Brewers enter Game 3 with a two-game lead and are scheduled to send Dustin May to the hill. With a win, Milwaukee will advance to the National League Championship Series.