Before the Atlanta Braves took on the division leading Phillies, their bats had been pretty hot. That was thanks to Jurickson Profar playing out of his mind, the Michael Harris resurgence, Drake Baldwin continuing to do his thing, Matt Olson staying steady as always, and Ozzie Albies deciding to finally hit. It also always helps when you have the all-world talent of Ronald Acuña Jr. on your side.
The Phillies series saw a drop off from these bats, but to be fair they also faced some really good pitching
for the most part. Today, they are scheduled to face Colin Rea who does not fall into the really good pitching category in terms of MLB level pitchers. He has had a solid career, but has never been above average. He is having a solid enough season this year in terms of his 4.23 ERA, but his 1.318 WHIP, and 4.96 xERA it shows he has been on the lucky side of ERA so far this season.
The Braves hitters do not have a lot of experience against Rea. Other than Jake Fraley, not other hitter has more that eight at-bats against him. Before the lineup dropped there was a question on whether or not Fraley may get the start because he has absolutely dominated Rea to a .500 average, and 1.571 OPS with two HRs in his twelve at-bats. The other question was whether or not Marcell Ozuna would get the start since he has struggled to a .125 average over his eight at-bats against Rea. We have our answer now though on which way Brian Snitker decided to go
Fraley is indeed getting the start. Jurickson Profar will get the honor of being the DH today with Ronald Acuña playing in the field. Drake Baldwin will be hitting cleanup.
Of the other players on the Braves roster, Matt Olson is one to keep an eye on. He is only one of three hitters on the roster with at least seven at-bats against Rea. In his seven at-bats he boasts a 1.572 OPS to include a HR and a .429 average.
Spencer Strider has not faced the Cubs this season, and only Justin Turner has more than three at-bats against him on the roster. Only five teams in MLB have scored more runs than the cubs this season, but since the start of August the Cubs have slowed down significantly. Only three teams have scored fewer runs in that timeframe. It will be interesting to see how Spencer Strider does against this struggling offense. With Justin Turner and Willi Castro not in the lineup, Strider will be facing a lineup that has a combined seven at-bats against him.
There are a handful of Cubs players early in the season that looked like potential MVP candidates. Pete Crow-Armstrong looked the best all-around player in MLB, Kyle Tucker looked like the Cubs made a steal of a trade, and Carson Kelly was having a career year. However, since the break, they have all cooled off considerably. Tucker has been playing through an injury. Nico Hoerner has been an under the radar star, but he cannot do it all by himself.
Time will tell if the Braves can take advantage of a Cubs offense that has struggled while facing one of their back end starting pitchers.
First pitch is at 4:05 EDT.
