Acuña out of lineup against Phillies in game one

Ronald Acuña Jr. will be getting some rest as the Braves face the Phillies

The Atlanta Braves offense has been struggling. Even with Ronald Acuña Jr. back, it has not seemed to be the spark that the offense has needed.

To be fair Ronald Acuña Jr. has not been the issue. He has had a a wRC+ of 208 in his four games. During that span the Braves offense has scored three or fewer runs in three of the last four games.

The Braves will be facing Cristopher Sánchez who has been great this season with a 3.17 ERA, 1.259 WHIP, and 3.44 FIP over 54.0 innings.

The Braves’ offense has been great against Sánchez in his career. The Braves have eight players with a career .833 OPS or higher against him.

In the first game, Acuña will be getting some rest as Ozzie Albies will be leading off. At first glance, it seems odd that Albies would be leading off, but considering he has a career OPS of .904 against LHP and the rest of the lineup has not exactly been on fire this season, it does make some sense.

Stuart Fairchild and Eli White will be manning the corner outfield spots. Fairchild has seen Sánchez before and has a HR and 1.000 OPS in seven at-bats. Luke Williams will get the start at SS and has also seen Sánchez before with a 1.000 OPS in his two at-bats.

This is a very different lineup than what we are used to seeing, but it is against a LHP and a shakeup is needed. Acuña being out is not exactly what fans will want to see, but hopefully the rest of the lineup will pull through. Of the two games today, this game makes the most sense for him to sit out if rest is needed.

The Phillies’ top hitter Bryce Harper will also take game one off. Alec Bohm will shift to first base and Sosa will man third base.

None of the players in the lineup have ever faced AJ Smith-Shawver before.

First pitch is at 1:05 EDT