Sal Frelick in the lineup for Game 1 when he hit the Brewers' padwall

MILWAUKEE – Sal Frelick returned to the Milwaukee Brewers lineup at the start of the playoffs without having to worry about hitting metal if he hit a wall again.

Frelick injured his hip Friday when his left side hit the metal chain link in a window in the right side wall of American Family Field that had no protective padding. When the Brewers began their NL Wild Card Series with the New York Mets on Tuesday, padding was added to cover that window.

This isn't the first time stadiums have changed their fences or walls after a player was injured on impact. For example, Aaron Rowand was playing for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2006 when he ran face-first into the fence at Citizens Bank Park. At Rowand's request, additional padding was ordered and ultimately installed on the fence.

Frelick recovered quickly and was back in right field for Game 1 on Tuesday. He had been walking with a crutch over the weekend.

“Yesterday I wouldn’t say he looked 100%, but he was moving,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said before the game. “I was shocked at how well he moved. They feel like he's going to be a step ahead today and that's the only reason he's in there. If we see it's not him, we'll pull him out of there.”

Frelick's injury occurred when he hit the sidewall while trying to intercept a drive by Francisco Alvarez that went into foul territory in the third inning of the Brewers' 8-4 win over the Mets.

“We all saw Sal running into walls and doing whatever, and then he would immediately appear,” Murphy said. “The fact that he didn't get up and couldn't – he walked off the pitch himself but when he got into the dugout he had to be carried. I thought there was no way he was going to play. Luckily it wasn't anything structural and he'll play through it.

As Frelick hit the side wall, his left side hit the metal chain link inside the window. Murphy said the window was there so the ground crew could see what was going on.

“Obviously I know there's a wall and I've seen that window before just from fucking out there,” Frelick said Saturday. “But I never thought twice about it [about it].”

Now he apparently doesn't have to worry about it at all.