Braves double down on lineup in search of series win

That means Drake Baldwin is back there hitting fifth

I’ve done game coverage twice in the span of a few games now, and these lineup posts have been amusing. In the series finale against the Mets, the Braves used the same lineup as in the middle game of the series. Doing so gave Drake Baldwin back-to-back starts for the first time in close to a month. The Braves started Sean Murphy in the series opener in Miami, lost, and then debuted another (much better) lineup in the second game, with Matt Olson moving up to second, and Baldwin back in the order and hitting fifth. After a 7-0 win, that’s the lineup they’re using again, such that Baldwin is now starting back-to-back games after just a one-day layoff on Friday:

The Marlins, well, they’ve famously repeated a lineup just once so far this season, and they’re definitely not doing it again. Nick Fortes starts at catcher and Javier Sanoja is manning third base, with some other elements other than their top three rearranged as well:

Doing history against Sandy Alcantara seems particularly fraught since this is not quite the same Sandy Alcantara as before, but oh well. The samples for some of these guys are getting up there now, and an image is easier than a summary:

Collectively, this is a .331 wOBA on a .309 xwOBA, which makes sense given how good Alcantara has been in his career.

As mentioned before, Bryce Elder has faced the Marlins a lot. However, since they keep changing who is a Marlin, only four guys in this lineup have ever faced him, and only two have double-digit PAs: Jesus Sanchez with 15, and Fortes with 10. Sanchez has a .465 wOBA / .392 xwOBA; Fortes has a .246 wOBA but a .454 xwOBA. Elder should probably not hang a pitch to Sanchez, for obvious reasons.