There is no way to sugarcoat it, the Atlanta Braves have struggled offensively this month. In fact, only three teams have scored fewer runs since the start of June. Of course, there are some excuses in terms of injuries, but the fact remains the same that the offense needs to get rolling again.
This evening the Braves are facing the San Francisco Giants who will be bringing Adrian Houser and his 5.54 ERA to the mound. With the news that reigning ROTY winner and first place All-Star vote getter Drake
Baldwin will be back, there is hope that the Braves can catch a spark.
Baldwin coming back in itself is huge, but factor in that the catcher position for the Braves since the Baldwin injury is dead last in fWAR in all of MLB, it amplifies how big of a deal the return is.
As mentioned earlier, Houser is struggling this season for the Giants, and there are a few Braves players who have done well against him in their careers. Austin Riley has seventeen at-bats against Houser and has been successful with one HR, .471 average, and .1.147 OPS. Ozzie Albies has also done well in his sixteen at-bats where he has maintained an OPS of .974 which is promising since he typically hits lefties better than righties. Michael Harris only has eight at-bats against Houser but has a .375 average against him.
Interestingly, Matt Olson has struggled in his eleven at-bats against Houser with a .182 average and .630 OPS.
Baldwin will be the one leading off with Michael Harris hitting second. It should also be noted that Ha-Seong Kim will be getting the start at SS and will be batting ninth.
Grant Holmes has struggled mightily when he faces hitters a second time in a game. Hitters are averaging a slash line of .317/.391/.663 the second time they face him in a game. With JR Ritchie now slotted in the rotation, there is a good chance we will see Didier Fuentes today.
Only four players on the Giants’ active roster have faced Holmes before and none of them have more than five at-bats. Rafael Devers is the player to watch today. He has a .400 average in his five at-bats against Holmes. Willy Adames is one for two against Holmes. Matt Chapman and Luis Arraez are both hitless in their two at-bats against Holmes.
The Giants are starting every player that has faced Grant Holmes before as both teams look to get headed in the right track in this series.
First pitch is at 7:15 pm EDT.
