MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Brewers rookie center fielder Garrett Mitchell returned to the lineup Thursday after a quicker-than-anticipated recovery from an early-season shoulder injury.
Mitchell doubled, walked twice and scored in his first big league game since April, and the Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0.
"I was trying to put good at-bats together, swinging at the right pitches and taking the bad ones. It felt good to go up there and see some success today," Mitchell said. "More than anything, I'm just happy that I made it back and I'm healthy."
Mitchell led off the third with a double off the wall in left on Dakota Hudson's first pitch of the inning. Christian Yelich then hit an RBI single for a 2-0 lead.
"I was looking for something over the plate, something I could drive to left field," Mitchell said.
The 24-year-old hurt his left shoulder while sliding into third base in the 10th inning of a 6-5, 11-inning victory at Seattle on April 18. He underwent surgery in May to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
"From where we were in April to right now, that's a great outcome to be back in a major league game on a major league field," Brewers' manager Craig Counsell said. "It's a real credit to how hard he's worked."
Mitchell was batting .259 with a .307 on-base percentage, a .466 slugging percentage, 3 homers, 6 RBIs and 1 steal in 16 games before the injury.
Selected 20th overall in the 2020 amateur draft from UCLA, Mitchell hit .312 with a .373 on-base percentage, 2 homers and 9 RBIs in 28 games last year after a late-season promotion.
Mitchell is expected to see more action over the final three regular-season games for the NL Central champion Brewers.
"We're debating Mitchell's spot on a roster," Counsell said. "Using these four games to see if they provide any information as to what we may want to do. He's healthy, but it's an injury that affects you."
Mitchell's return could be an added spark for the team, according to general manager Matt Arnold.
"He's great. He just brings so much good energy in every way," Arnold said. "Just a great kid and he's worked really hard to get back here, so I'm proud of him however this works out."
Mitchell was activated from the 60-day injured list, and infielder/outfielder Brian Anderson was designated for assignment.
"It's just one of those things where you kind of start getting into what this will look like," Arnold said of Anderson and the postseason roster. "I just want to reiterate that he was as good of a teammate here as I've ever been around."