The Atlanta Braves offense has been hot and cold all season long. This has led to multiple shifts in not only which players are in the lineup, but also where they hit in the lineup. This makes sense because if it is not working, there is not reason to keep it the same.
In the game yesterday the Braves were able to score five runs and had opportunity to score even more based on the fact that they were able to produce more base runners than some may have assumed they would based on the pitching matchup.
Today the Braves are taking a similar approach that was sometimes deployed in the regular season of constructing a lineup based on the starting pitcher.
In today’s lineup the only player difference is that Sean Murphy will be in and Mike Yastrzemski is out, but there has been a massive shift where the players are hitting in the lineup. We see Ronald Acuña move up to leadoff, Ozzie Albies shift from sixth to third, Matt Olson shifts down to fourth, Austin Riley shifts from seventh to sixth, and the biggest one is Michael Harris shifting from fifth to seventh.
This shifts may seem odd at first, but the Braves have a decent sample size against Cristopher Sánchez and the lineup seems to be constructed based on that. Ronald Acuña has a 1.000 OPS against him in sixteen ABs, Ozzie Albies has a .500 average and 1.193 OPS in eighteen ABs, and Austin Riley has a 1.104 OPS in fifteen ABs. This would explain some of the shifting. On the flip side of the coin, Michael Harris has a .321 OPS against Sánchez in fifteen ABs.
This is the point where analytical teams are likely in the ear of the manager, and this lineup is set to get to Sánchez the best way they can.
The Phillies were bound to have a different lineup since Sale is a LHP and Mahle is a RHP.
This is indeed the case as Brandon Marsh and Justin Crawford will both be getting the start today. Tyler Mahle faced the Phillies twice already this month and held them to only one run over thirteen innings while only walking one and inducing twenty-three ground balls.
On paper the Braves have the edge, but this is playoff baseball where anything can happen. The Braves lead MLB in wRC+ in the ninth inning and are in the top eight in the eighth inning. If they can get to the bullpen early, it could be the X factor.
First pitch is at 2:00 EDT.
