The Atlanta Braves have a similar look to yesterday’s lineup against the Toronto Blue Jays, with a few additions to spice it up a bit with a new game plan to secure tonight’s win.
Ha-Seong Kim will be taking Jorge Mateo’s spot at shortstop in hopes of turning his slump around after a mediocre showing since his mid-May return. On both offense and defense, his performance has taken a decline, currently averaging a .089 at the plate and a .269 OPS. It is necessary to put Kim in every other rotation,
not only to give him extra opportunity to improve, but also rest Mateo and focus on fixing what mechanics aren’t working.
You’ll also notice Mauricio Dubón, Eli White and Chadwick Tromp are set to join Atlanta to help secure a series win early-on. Ronald Acuña Jr. will continue to lead off and take over DH.
Now, we hinted at this in the pitching preview, but the majority of the Braves’ lineup finds success in reaching base and knocking in RBIs against Toronto’s Patrick Corbin.
Even Kim has nine RBIs and a homer with a .977 OPS against him in his 17 total at-bats.
Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies are two major concerns for Corbin, as both have three solo shots apiece against him and over 10 RBIs.
If the rest of the Braves offense takes advantage of finding their perfect pitch against Corbin’s six-pitch arsenal early on, this matchup is a winnable one, though they’ll need to set the tone early with Grant Holmes on the mound.
Since the Blue Jays are missing some key pieces, they’ll fight to the finish and try to make it as close as they did in game one to rattle the team and shift the momentum.
With an absent George Springer from Toronto’s lineup, Nathan Lukes is taking the lead off spot, with Jesús Sánchez taking over as DH and batting fourth in the lineup. In his seven plate appearances against Holmes, Sánchez averages a .286 but also gets comfortable taking his base when facing him with a .946 OPS.
The Blue Jays might not have been looking like the team that faced the Dodgers in last year’s finals matchup, but that doesn’t mean they won’t play like they have something to prove. And the Braves, well, they just need to beat them to it and start off hot.
Starting at 7:15 p.m EDT. Tune in to watch how tonight pans out.
