Brewers manager Ned Yost insists he’s unconcerned about the rate at which his hitters are striking out.

Really, really, really unconcerned.

“We’re probably going to make somewhere between 24 and 27 outs today,” Yost informed reporters Friday. “I don’t really care, unless there’s a runner on third base with less than two outs, how you make them.

“That’s all I look at. If we can make contact with a runner on third base, less than two outs, that’s the only time a strikeout really, really hurts you. We get a little carried away at times [worrying about] strikeouts. It’s not a concern right now.”

Yost concedes this is a new outlook on the strikeout, a statistic his teams have compiled with abandon over the last five-plus years. They finished with the second-highest strikeout total in the 16-team National League every season from 2003-2006, then slipped down to sixth last season while leading the Majors in home runs. But entering the weekend series against Houston, the Brewers ranked fourth in the NL with 390 whiffs.

They struck out seven more times on Friday and have picked up the pace of late. Entering the series against Houston, the Brewers had reached double digits in strikeouts four times in their previous six games, including a season-high 12 whiffs on Monday in Washington and 12 more Thursday against the Braves.

But, Yost pointed out, none of the dozen strikeouts in Thursday’s game came in the vital, “runner on third, less than two out,” situation.

“You have to have context to it,” Yost said. “When somebody says, ‘You’re striking out,’ give me some context to it so it means something.”

With runners in scoring position and fewer than two outs, the Brewers had struck out 48 times in 236 at-bats through Thursday, or once every 4.9 at-bats. The manager certainly does not want his hitters to strike out, and concedes that putting the ball in play in any situation forces the defense to convert outs and opens the door to run-scoring chances.

He simply is not counting every strikeout as if it’s the end of the world.

“It gets ridiculous at times, talking about it,” Yost said.

Hookscenter.com wire report.