Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich left Thursday night's series opener against the Cincinnati Reds because of tightness in his lower back, the team announced.
Yelich, who was slated to start in center field, grounded out in the top of the first and did not take the field in the bottom half of the inning. He said after the game that he felt his back tighten after taking a couple of steps out of the box.
Yelich has dealt with back issues before, landing on the DL in 2015 when he strained his lower back.
"It's been about three years, but I kind of knew the feeling," he said. "It's kind of looking like this one's not as bad. We'll see. It depends on the next 24 hours."
Yelich was replaced Thursday by Keon Broxton, who went 1-for-3 with a run scored in Milwaukee's 6-4 win.
The Brewers were already without regular center fielder Lorenzo Cain, who went on the 10-day disabled list earlier this week because of a strained groin.
Yelich, 26, is hitting .289 with 11 homers and 34 RBIs.
