With Ronald Acuña Jr. now on the Injured List with a hamstring issue, the Braves are reshuffling their lineup. Notable change #1: Mauricio Dubon is now the leadoff hitter. Notable change #2: with a lefty on the hill, Jose Azocar gets the start in right field. The rest of the lineup is kind of as expected against a lefty, though Michael Harris II isn’t starting such that Drake Baldwin can DH while Jonah Heim catches again.
The Rockies have also reshuffled their lineup, with Hunter Goodman DHing while
Brett Sullivan catches, which has pushed Tyler Freeman out of the starting nine for another day.
This is a fun batter-versus-pitcher day. Ozzie Albies and Dubon have both hit Kyle Freeland well in 20+ PAs. Matt Olson hasn’t in double-digit PAs, but Austin Riley has. Even Azocar has faced Freeland before, meaning that everyone in the starting nine has except Baldwin. Collectively, it’s a .389 wOBA and .333 xwOBA against Freeland in 92 career PAs.
On the flip side, everyone in the Colorado lineup except TJ Rumfield and Ezequiel Tovar have faced Spencer Strider, though not in very many PAs. Collectively, it’s 28 PAs with a .247 wOBA and .250 xwOBA, and 12 strikeouts in those 28 PAs. We’ll see if Strider can replicate that level of success.
