Dominic Smith has had his share of big moments for the 2026 Atlanta Braves, but with Sean Murphy healthy (for now?), there has been a rising clamor of, “Why don’t we let Murphy catch rather than adding Smith’s bat?” There’s a bit of a point there:
- Sean Murphy has consistently been an excellent defensive catcher;
- Drake Baldwin has been an average-y defensive catcher; and
- Dominic Smith is currently wearing a .313 wOBA / .306 xwOBA, with a pedestrian line against right-handed pitching.
So, at least for tonight, the Braves agree with said clamor, as Sean Murphy is catching and hitting ninth, while Drake Baldwin is ensconced at DH. No Dominic Smith in sight, even with the Mets giving a righty (Christian Scott) the start tonight.
Something that’s kind of interesting is that Mike Yastrzemski isn’t starting in lieu of Mauricio Dubon. Aside from the weird game where the Braves started Lane Thomas and Murphy against a righty, Yastrzemski hasn’t missed a start against a righty while on the active roster since April 26. But, he’s giving way to Dubon tonight, at least in the early going. I wonder if he’s got a nagging or stinging ailment of some sort.
Everyone but Murphy has faced Scott in a couple of games so far in Scott’s young career. Michael Harris II and Jim Jarvis have enjoyed their very limited PAs against him so far (wOBA and xwOBA above .500), while Matt Olson, Austin Riley, and Ronald Acuña Jr. have not (wOBA and xwOBA below .250). The collective line is a .321 wOBA (eh) and a .282 xwOBA (not great), but it’s just 49 PAs.
Here’s the Mets lineup, sans tweet:
Though most of these names are familiar, it is indeed a new lineup for the Mets, who generally haven’t hit Jared Young fifth and Francisco Alvarez ninth in the same array.
It’s funny, you’d think the Mets would be more familiar with Bryce Elder than the Braves with Scott, but not so much — it’s a collective 52 PAs. Only Francisco Lindor and Brett Baty have double-digit PAs against Elder; Lindor has crushed him (.606 wOBA, .496 xwOBA) while Baty has struggled (.279 wOBA, .233 xwOBA). Both Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing have really stung Elder in three PAs each. The collective line in those 52 PAs is a .453 wOBA and .398 xwOBA, so there’s definitely a whole suite of improvement available if Elder has his mechanics working tonight.
