The Biggest Lineup Change Brewers Must Make Before Game 4

The Milwaukee Brewers have a chance to advance to the World Series with a win on Thursday.

Oct 14, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Milwaukee Brewers third baseman David Hamilton at press conference prior to game three of the NLCS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Milwaukee Brewers are one win away from advancing to the World Series. Now, isn't the time to take the foot off the gas.

With the Los Angeles Dodgers scheduled to turn to the righty Tyler Glasnow on the hill on Thursday night, Milwaukee needs to get its lefties back into the starting lineup to maximize matchups, as it has throughout the entire postseason so far, and finish the job.

In Game 3, the Brewers rolled with the following starting lineup:

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

Vaughn, Lara and Ortiz were inserted into the lineup — and did a good job — in place of Christian Yelich, Sal Frelick and David Hamilton. With Glasnow on the hill on Thursday, Milwaukee needs to get these three back into the starting lineup. Arguably, this should be what the lineup looks like when the Brewers line up against Los Angeles in Game 4:

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

Milwaukee has done a good job maximizing matchups throughout the postseason so far. Game 4 should be no different. Yelich is Yelich. He's the captain for a reason and entered the game on Wednesday as a pinch-runner for Vaughn. He was on the bases when Jake Bauers launched his dramatic go-ahead homer late.

Frelick would give the Brewers another lefty at the bottom of the order. Hamilton was one of the stars of Game 2. He went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two stolen bases. That sort of speed plays. In the postseason so far, the Brewers have been lethal on the base paths. Few have the speed that Hamilton does.

On paper, the Brewers' odds of advancing are phenomenal right now. But the series isn't over. Milwaukee still needs a fourth win and cannot take it easy now. If the Brewers win on Thursday, they'll have plenty of time to prepare as the American League Championship Series continues. On Thursday, the Brewers need to load up the lefties and try to knock out Glasnow as fast as possible to get to Los Angeles' bullpen, which Milwaukee has had success against.