Milwaukee Brewers star outfielder Christian Yelich was hit by a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies. Brewers fans are understandably upset that Yelich was forced to leave the game after receiving some chin music. Yelich reportedly left the game with a left hand contusion, and the extend of his injury is not known at this time.
While Yelich has a high ground ball rate so far this season, he was finally starting to hit his stride the last few games. In his last two games against the Phillies prior to Sunday, Yelich had seven hits and five RBIs, and was starting to resemble his former NL MVP self.
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Milwaukee Brewers fans are panicking about Christian Yelich's injury
The video of said HBP has yet to be released by MLB, but it wasn't pretty per fans in attendance and beat reporters.
"Yelich gets red hot and then gets hit in the hand by a baseball," one Brewers fan wrote.
"As is always the case, Yelich starts getting hit(s) and then immediately he gets injured," another fan suggested.
"Vibes were too high so the baseball gods had to take Yelich," one Yelich-specific account tweeted.
"The red hot Christian Yelich gets drilled on the hand and removed from the game, because of course," said another depressed Brewers supporter.
There were many more where that came from.
Loss of Christian Yelich looms large in NL Central race
The point, however, remains that the Brewers rough start to the season cannot be overlooked. Milwaukee is 5.5 games back of the Chicago Cubs – led by their former manager Craig Counsell, of course – and were just starting to get it going prior to Yelich's injury. One can only hope that Yelich's injury isn't serious, because having him in the lineup is a must for Milwaukee moving forward.
The Brewers outfield depth has already been tested this season. When everyone is healthy, Milwaukee prefers to keep Yeli healthy by playing him at the DH slot. If he were to miss time, the Brewers could rotate some of their more potent position players to designated hitter, thus giving them some time off from the field.
While that sounds like turning a negative into a positive, the top of the Brewers lineup is lacking without Yelich – a player who has earned the respect of his peers – in it, especially given he was finally starting to get going.