Brewers' Ryan Braun: Expects to return Sunday

Braun (back) said he hopes to return to the lineup Sunday, the Journal Sentinel reports. "It feels better," Braun said. "I could tell when I first got up this morning. It was progressing, just slowly. When the facet joints lock up like that, I have to do everything I can to wait for them to unlock. A lot of heat, a lot of (electrical stimulation), some light massage, stuff like that. There's not much we could do until it loosened up. Today was the first morning I woke up and felt significantly better."

Analysis:

Braun has missed six of the last seven games due to the ailment, but it looks as though he'll avoid a stint on the DL. The Brewers are off Monday, which could force manager Craig Counsell to consider holding Braun out Sunday to gain the extra day of rest, but Braun isn't ruling anything out at this point. "The goal is to get back as soon as possible, but also, obviously, to be smart about it," Braun said. "I've been pretty open and honest with the trainers about where it's at, what it feels like. Then they give me their feedback. What we don't want to do is come back a day early and I make it worse, and I turn three or four days (off) into two or three weeks."