Andrew Vaughn was back in the Brewers lineup Wednesday, batting sixth as the designated hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The game, scheduled for a 12:15 p.m. first pitch, came one day after Vaughn was activated from the injured list and after Milwaukee reset for what was effectively the finale of a two-game series because of a rainout.
The Brewers also had Jackson Chourio back after his own Monday activation, and the middle of the order featured William Contereas, Jake Bauers and Vaughn. Milwaukee made the turn into the game with an 18-16 record, while the Cardinals were 21-14. The Brewers were set to carry the matchup on Brewers.TV, WTMJ 620 and the Brewers Radio Network.
Vaughn’s return put him back in the lineup immediately after a quiet day at the plate Monday, when he went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and a hit by pitch. The fourth-round pick in 2019 was inserted into a Brewers lineup that needs him to settle in quickly, and the club did not wait long to give him another start after bringing him off the injured list.
The short series left little room to ease back in. After the rainout compressed the schedule, Milwaukee had to treat Wednesday’s matchup as the final game of the set and do it with two hitters returning from the injured list at once. That gave the Brewers a different look in the middle of the order and put Vaughn back in a spot where every trip to the plate could help define how soon he becomes part of the regular plan.
For Milwaukee, the message was simple: Vaughn was active, Vaughn was in the lineup, and the Brewers were willing to use him right away. The question now is whether the bat follows the roster move fast enough to make the decision look like the start of something, not just the next step.
