Brewers fire Manager Ned Yost

MILWAUKEE, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- The Milwaukee Brewers, tied in the race for the National League wild card playoff spot but having lost 11 of 14 games, Monday fired Ned Yost" class="tpstyle">Manager Ned Yost.

Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin installed third-base coach Dale Sveum as interim manager for the remaining 12 games of the regular season.

Milwaukee's slump has caused a 5 1/2-game lead in the wild card race to shrink to a tie with the Philadelphia Phillies, who swept a four-game series with Milwaukee last weekend.

The Brewers trail the Chicago Cubs by 7 1/2 games in the NL Central standings. Sveum's debut as interim manager will be a three-game series against the Cubs beginning Tuesday.

"This was a very difficult move to make," said Melvin. "We appreciate all of the work that Ned has done to develop this team into a contender. In the end, this was a collaborative decision made to put our club in the best position for the final two weeks of the season."

Yost was named the Brewers' skipper Oct. 29, 2002. The team lost 94 games each of his first two seasons but won 83 games last year and already have 83 wins this season. His managerial record is 457-502 over six seasons.