St. Louis Cardinals: Don’t change the approach to Yelich

The most dangerous player in the division will be at home against the St. Louis Cardinals. The team needs to continue to not let him beat them.

Christian Yelich started off his MVP caliber campaign in 2019 with a bang against the St. Louis Cardinals. Playing two series at Milwaukee before the month of April was even over, the Cardinals were tired of seeing the slugger hurt them time and time again.

In the first series, Yelich went 6-12 with four homers and eight RBI’s. In the second, he went 6-12 again with another four homers and he ended April with 19 RBI’s against the Cardinals. It was clear the approach the team was taking against him was not working at all.

When the Brewers finally came to Busch Stadium, the story was different. Yelich went 0-7 with two walks (one intentional) while the Cardinals swept the Brewers at home. In his second trip to Busch, he went 2-10 with another four walks (one intentional).

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The Cardinals made it clear, they weren’t going to let Yelich beat them, even if it meant walking him. The script here has another thread to it that was brought up earlier in the difference between Yelich at Miller Park vs. him everywhere else. That storyline fit earlier in the season, but now that the season has continued, it has evened out as Yelich has a 1.198 OPS at home and still a stellar 1.013 OPS on the road.

Yelich is a big-time MVP candidate home or away, and when the Cardinals start their series against the Brewers tonight in Milwaukee, they have to be even more careful with Yelich. Walk him every time for all I care, this series is too big to let him make the difference.

With the Cardinals heading into Milwaukee with a 2.5 game lead over the Cubs and a 4.5 game lead over the Brewers, this is the time for the Cardinals to step on the throat of them and make it a two-team race for the NL Central crown.

The Brewers are 5-5 in their last ten games, two of those losses came from the Cardinals, but it’s time for the team to stay hot and improve upon their 2-5 record at Miller Park this year.

Yelich is going to finish either first or second in the MVP voting this year and is exactly the type of guy that warrants zero chances to change the game. The Cardinals proved they can bottle him up when they play at Busch, now it’s time to show that same skill on the road.