LOS ANGELES -- After making 99 starts and playing in 125 games in the regular season, battling nagging injuries and taking prescribed rest days along the way, Ryan Braun has returned to being an everyday player in the postseason.
Braun has started all seven games for the Milwaukee Brewers against the Colorado Rockies in the National League Division Series and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series and, most important, made a positive impact while doing so.
After singling three times in the Brewers' 2-1, 13-inning Game 4 loss on Tuesday night, he has 10 hits to lead the team and his three RBI are tied for second behind Orlando Arcia's four.
"As we've gotten going here in the playoffs he's taken a bigger role," manager Craig Counsell said on Tuesday afternoon, prior to Game 4.
"During the regular season he was not an everyday player for us. It was important – I think we both agreed – that there be days off in there. And that he was going to be a more productive player if there was some days off in there.
"That's not easy always for players to accept and to buy into. I think Ryan showed a lot of humility in accepting that and understanding that at times it was best for the team and best for himself. And when we added Curtis (Granderson) in the month of September, it made a big difference.
"We've had some off days in the playoffs. I think Ryan has been able to keep himself in a pretty good spot health-wise, and we're good to go."
Thumb, calf and back issues conspired to limit Braun's productivity and availability going all the way back to 2013. He played in 21 more games this year than he did in 2017 despite two separate stints on the disabled list that cost him a total of 16 games.
His .254 regular-season average and .313 on-base percentage were the lowest of his career, although his bad luck when it came to hard-hit balls at defenders was a season-long theme.
Braun also proved to be a team player by accepting an early season move to first base, where he started 12 games before Jesús Aguilar emerged as the regular starter there.
Braun hit 20 homers and drove in 64 runs in the regular season – ranking fourth on the Brewers in both categories – and his .782 OPS ranked as sixth-best on the team.
He also proved he can still deliver in the clutch, as his .344 average, five homers and 12 RBI over the final 10 games of the regular season helped get the Brewers into the postseason for the first time since 2011.
"Ryan's 12 years into a major-league career, and the thing that's constant is he's got a beautiful baseball swing," said Counsell. "It's the swing that guys on the other team want to come watch in batting practice. It's still fun to watch him hit because the swing is aesthetically pleasing for a hitter.
"I think as his career has went on, like every player, physically, you change. And then I think mentally you get sharper and smarter and wiser. He's definitely played a role he's done a really good job of kind of recognizing where his role is as this team's evolved this year.
"I compliment him as much as anything for doing that."
Not the real Schoop: According to Wade Miley, Brewers fans have not seen the real Jonathan Schoop.
Miley, the veteran left-hander who will start Game 5 of the NLCS for the Brewers against Los Angeles on Wednesday, played the previous two seasons with Schoop in Baltimore. A second baseman with considerable pop in his bat, Schoop made the American League all-star team in 2017, slugging 32 home runs, driving in 105 runs and compiling a .841 OPS.
Schoop struggled in the first half of this season but still had 17 home runs and 40 RBI in 85 games, and was the reigning AL player of the week when the Brewers acquired him from the Orioles on July 31 for infielder Jonathan Villar, pitching prospect Luis Ortiz and minor-league shortstop Jean Carmona.
Schoop, who turned 27 on Tuesday, never got going at the plate with the Brewers and eventually lost playing time. He batted only .202 in 46 games with a .246 OBP and .331 slugging percentage, with four homers and 21 RBI.
Schoop had a big moment on Sept. 9 against San Francisco at Miller Park, hitting a grand slam off Madison Bumgarner to spark the Brewers to a 6-3 victory. But he made little impact otherwise and had been mostly a spectator during the postseason before getting a start in Game 4 against Dodgers lefty Rich Hill.
Of Schoop’s prior play in Baltimore, Wade Miley said, “From what I’ve seen, he’s a superstar. Hitting .290 last year, 35 homers, plays great defense, probably can turn two with the best of them.
“I don’t know. He just needs at-bats, I guess. But it’s hard. We’ve got a really good team over here. He came in, in August, and this is how we play. He’ll be good again.”
As for how Schoop has handled his disappointing play and reduced playing time, Miley said, “Probably as good as you can handle it. Obviously, he wants to play every day. He’s played 162 games (in 2016) in Baltimore. It’s probably hard to come off the bench like he has.
“He’s still out there supporting his teammates, day in and day out. He’s going to try to do whatever he can to help the team win.”
Had the right-handed-hitting Schoop been swinging the bat well entering the NLCS, he might have seen lots of action because the Dodgers feature three left-handed starting pitchers. Instead, he had to wait until Game 4 to find his name in the starting lineup.
“When I compare it to our other options, it’s the option that I like best tonight,” Counsell said.
Counsell's hunch didn't pay off, however, as Schoop failed to hit the ball out of the infield in an 0-for-5 performance that included a pair of strikeouts and three runners left on base.
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