MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich has come off the injured list as the Milwaukee Brewers get more reinforcements after missing some top hitters early this season.
Milwaukee activated Yelich on Tuesday after the 2018 NL MVP and three-time All-Star missed a month with an adductor strain. To open a roster spot for the outfielder/designated hitter, the Brewers optioned first baseman/outfielder Tyler Black to Triple-A Nashville.
"It’s obviously frustrating when you're not out there and not able to contribute," Yelich said before batting third as a DH against San Diego. "I’m definitely glad to be back."
The 34-year-old was hitting .314 with a .375 on-base percentage, one homer, 10 RBIs and three steals in 15 games before going on the IL.
Yelich last played on April 12, when he started to feel discomfort while grounding into a forceout in the first inning of an 8-6 loss to Washington. He got pulled for a pinch hitter in the fifth inning.
Milwaukee was without Yelich, outfielder Jackson Chourio and outfielder/first baseman Andrew Vaughn for much of the last month. Chourio went on the injured list on opening day and Vaughn played just one game before joining him as both dealt with fractured bones in their left hands.
Chourio and Vaughn were both activated on May 4. The Brewers went 14-9 while Yelich was out, including a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees last weekend.
“The guys did a great job,” Yelich said. "They've been playing well. Hopefully I’ll be able to contribute to that a little bit.”
Yelich's return could provide a power surge to a lineup that entered Tuesday with a big league-low 26 homers. Although the Brewers entered Tuesday ranked eighth in runs (195) and fifth in on-base percentage (.333), they were 28th in slugging percentage (.353).
Brewers manager Pat Murphy said before Tuesday's game that “we’re still finding ourselves” and that “we’re still understanding what kind of offense we need to be.”
“We've faced some really good pitching, if you think about it, some of the best in the major leagues,” he said. “So I think it's hard to evaluate it by numbers in those small increments. But certainly we weren't as confident as we've been at times. I think it's good timing that Yeli's back because our road is very, very difficult.”
Black batted .333 with a .357 on-base percentage, no homers and seven RBIs in nine games with Milwaukee. The 25-year-old entered this season batting .211 (12 of 57) in his previous major league stints.
“Tyler knows that he's good enough to play in the big leagues,” Murphy said. “Tyler knows that he belongs. He knows that he's wanted. His time will come again.”
In other injury news, the Brewers estimated that outfielder Brandon Lockridge could return in mid to late June. Lockridge sustained a major cut and bruise to his right knee while sliding into foul territory in the fourth inning Friday as he tried to catch a fly ball.
“There's some other testing we want to get done, so we're going to get another scan done to make sure that there's no further bruising of the bone and that type of thing,” Murphy said. “It takes a while for the swelling and everything to calm down. He's got another test to go through, but we're anticipating somewhere around a month, maybe six weeks.”
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FILE - Milwaukee Brewers' Christian Yelich bats during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, April 5, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Pop star Debbie Gibson and Terry “Geezer” Butler, co-founder of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, are singing the same tune when it comes to sparing dogs from medical experiments.
The unlikely pair came together Tuesday not for a most unusual duet, but instead to praise ongoing efforts to find new homes for roughly 1,500 beagles purchased from dog breeder and research facility Ridglan Farms outside of Madison.
Forget Black Sabbath’s anti-war anthem “War Pigs.” This day was all about the dogs — more specifically, the beagles.
“It was so profound to be able to hold each of these dogs in our arms and be able to assure them that their new life was starting,” Gibson said. “Today was a very emotional day.”
Both Gibson and Butler held beagles from Ridglan Farms that had been transported from the facility to the humane society on Tuesday.
“They’ve never let me down,” Butler said of his pet dogs at the Dane County Humane Society, which is working to find new homes for 500 beagles. “They’re always loving.”
As they and others spoke in the humane society's barn, beagles from Ridglan Farms sat in the arms of volunteers as they waited to be seen by veterinarians for a health check, vaccinations and other care.
The Washington, D.C.-based Center for a Humane Economy and Florida's Big Dog Ranch Rescue, which both oppose using animals in research, struck the deal last month to buy the dogs for an undisclosed amount from Ridglan Farms.
The deal was announced just days after a violent clash between animal welfare advocates and police outside of the Ridglan Farms facility. Police used tear gas and pepper spray to turn back activists who said they were there to take the dogs. Protesters also broke into the facility in March and took 30 dogs.
Numerous groups are working to transfer the 1,500 dogs bought from Ridglan to facilities where they will get veterinary care and be prepared for transport to shelters around the country, where they will eventually be put up for adoption.
More than 1,300 people have expressed interest to the Dane County Humane Society alone in adopting the dogs, said Amy Good, the society's director of marketing.
“It’s not a tough sell to get beagles into homes," said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Center for a Humane Economy. "The response across the nation has been overwhelming.”
The first 1,000 dogs were removed earlier this month and are in temporary shelters with agencies partnering with Big Dog Ranch Rescue. The Dane County Humane Society began receiving the remaining 500 dogs this week.
Ridglan Farms agreed in October to give up its state breeding license as of July 1 as part of a deal to avoid prosecution on felony animal mistreatment charges. The firm has denied mistreating animals, but a special prosecutor determined that Ridglan Farms was performing eye procedures that violated state veterinary standards.
Butler, who said he has five dogs and five cats at home, called it a historic day for the end of experimenting on animals.
“This is just the beginning,” he said.
Gibson, who released her debut album at age 16 in 1987, said she planned on fostering and possibly adopting one of the beagles she met on Tuesday.
“This little guy was the last one put in my arms, and I couldn’t put him back in a cage,” she said, holding the beagle as she spoke.
Asked whether they will ever work together on a song about dogs, Butler and Gibson chuckled.
“Maybe,” Butler said with a smile and a beagle still on his lap.
Pop star Debbie Gibson and Black Sabbath co-founder Terry "Geezer" Butler hold beagles that were purchased from a Dane County animal research facility on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
Black Sabbath co-founder Terry "Geezer" Butler watch beagles that were purchased from a Dane County animal research facility play outside on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
Pop star Debbie Gibson and Black Sabbath co-founder Terry "Geezer" Butler hold beagles that were purchased from a Dane County animal research facility on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
Beagles that were purchased from a Dane County animal research facility play outside on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
