Notes: Braun, Yelich, Racing Sausages

MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers took a break on Saturday before entering the home stretch of Summer Camp. For Ryan Braun, it might be time to get some at-bats. For Christian Yelich, it might be time to take a breath.

As Yelich tallied the hit he’d been searching for, Braun sat out a fourth straight intrasquad game on Friday, and while manager Craig Counsell conceded that Braun “has been a little bit slowed by just the normal things for him,” the absence was not characterized as injury related. Rather, Braun only wants about 15 Summer Camp at-bats before Opening Day, and with five already banked from earlier scrimmages, he remains on track to be ready to go when the Brewers open the regular season against the Cubs on Friday at Wrigley Field.

“I’m hoping it’s Sunday,” said Counsell, when asked about Braun’s return to game action. “I think we’re getting to the point where we’ve got to get started. But again, we’re four games left, and if you look at 15 [at-bats] as the number for him, he’s got five already. We’re not really that far from that.

“Most important is that he’s feeling good. He has been a little slowed by just the normal things for him, nothing of significance, but getting him feeling good -- always to me, I put more importance on that than the number of at-bats.”

Asked specifically whether Braun was dealing with anything more than aches and pains, Counsell said, “Nothing of note.”

Contrast that to Yelich, who played every day this week and continued to be frustrated at the plate. When he was called out by plate umpire Marty Foster in the first inning on Friday -- the pitch appeared low -- Yelich was 0-for-11 with seven strikeouts. In his next at-bat, he lined a 3-0 pitch from Brewers prospect Drew Rasmussen the opposite way for a two-run single, and teammates celebrated.

"That's all he needed, boys," said Brock Holt, who wore a microphone for the Brewers.com stream of the game. "He might not get out the rest of the year."

Not so fast. Yelich struck out in his final at-bat of the night.

After playing night games for most of the past week, the Brewers will return to an early schedule on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, with intrasquad games scheduled for 1:10 p.m. CT. On Wednesday, they are scheduled to play the White Sox in Chicago at 7:10 p.m. CT (Fox Sports Wisconsin will carry that game), and on Thursday, the Brewers will work out at Wrigley Field ahead of the opener the next day.

Has this unprecedented Summer Camp gone according to plan?

“What we’re trying to get out of it is really just fatigue, a little bit,” Counsell said. “Like, get the legs under the position players. And we’re there. … The point of this in a shortened camp is we’ve got to get guys used to being on their feet for a while because the season starts and it’s fast. It’s fast meaning we have a lot of games in a row, there aren’t days off, so the camp was designed to get them tired and give them a break, get them tired and give them a break.

"That’s how we designed this, and I think we’re in pretty good place with that. [Saturday] is meant to be a day they can recover and feel good going into that last week.”

Racing Sausages to hit the road
The Johnsonville Famous Racing Sausages didn’t make the cut for Tier 1 status this season, so they cannot be on the field at Miller Park to begin the 2020 season. They will adopt a travel schedule instead and the Brewers want fans to suggest race venues.

The sausages will show up at “surprise” locations throughout the Milwaukee area to stage the race, which will be then shown on the scoreboard in the middle of the sixth inning of home games. It will also be shared via Brewers social media. To suggest a location, fans should visit brewers.com/racingsausages and share why their spot should be chosen. Locations must be within an hour’s drive of Milwaukee and be able to accommodate an outdoor race of a minimum of 300 feet. The deadline is July 31.

“We can’t bring fans to games right now, but we can take the races to the community,” said Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger. “It’s not Brewers baseball without the Johnsonville Famous Racing Sausages, and this is a tradition that has to keep running.”

Running. Get it?

Last call
• The Brewers hope to have a better feel by Sunday or Monday about Brett Anderson’s availability after his Wednesday intrasquad outing was cut short after two innings due to a developing blister. If he’s able, Anderson is slated to start the second game of the regular season against the Cubs.

“Losing anybody at this point, it matters, so we’re hoping Brett is able to go,” Counsell said. “It just takes one guy off the list right away. It’s one of your guys that you were counting on. We’ll adjust, but if Brett’s not able to go, it’s definitely a loss at the start.”

• Likewise, the Brewers are gathering information about second baseman Keston Hiura, who has not played since Tuesday because of soreness or weakness in his throwing arm. Counsell said he hoped to get Hiura into Sunday’s game.