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Brewers' Christian Yelich exits game with low back discomfort

BALTIMORE -- Milwaukee Brewers star Christian Yelich left the game in the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night with low back discomfort.

The 32-year-old outfielder was removed defensively before the bottom of the second. He'd singled in the top of the first to raise his batting average to .333 early in the season.

Yelich explained after the game that he felt his back tighten up as he was running but hopes he stopped before it tightened up too much.

"We'll see in the next few days how it bounces back," he said. "Obviously hoping for the best."

Yelich, the National League's MVP in 2018, already has five home runs this year. He hit a career-high 44 homers in 2019 but has not surpassed 19 since then.

Milwaukee led 3-0 when Yelich left the game and ultimately won in a rout, 11-1. The Brewers are 9-3, in first place in the NL Central despite trading ace Corbin Burnes to Baltimore in the offseason.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.