Arcia is back at batting sixth, and the lineup is the same as yesterday as the Braves look for the sweep
As the Atlanta Braves face the Boston Red Sox in game two of this two game set, they look to get their offense going while trusting Chris Sale can continue his hot streak.
The Braves will be facing Nick Pivetta and many of them have faced him before since he was with the Phillies for just over three seasons starting back in 2017. As expected, the usual group of players is up for the Braves for when they face a RHP starter. Last game the Braves opted to move Orlando up to the six spot, and he will be there again tonight. This bumps Harris to seventh and d’Arnaud to eight.
Here’s how we’re lining up tonight at @TruistPark #BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/XSM3u5dyGc
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 8, 2024
Marcell Ozuna excelled against Pivetta in twenty-four at-bats with a .250 average, .990 OPS, and four HRs. Orlando Arcia has also done well in his limited five at-bats with a .800 average, 2.233 OPS, and one HR. Albies and Acuña have both struggled against Pivetta in terms of OPS. Albies has a .446 OPS in thirty-one at bats, and Acuña with a .644 in twenty-eight at bats. It is interesting that Snitker opted to keep Albies batting second when he clearly struggles against Pivetta.
Austin Riley and Travis d’Arnaud are two others to keep an eye on. Riley has a .958 OPS with two HRs in sixteen at-bats and d’Arnaud has a 2.500 OPS with one HR in four at-bats. Of course, four at-bats is a small sample, but it will be fun to see if d’Arnaud continue to do well against Pivetta.
As for the Red Sox, it is no shock that very few have them have faced Sale before since he was a member of the Red Sox for the previous seven seasons. Only Garrett Cooper, Rob Refsnyder, and Zack Short (and Short just got DFA’d yesterday) have ever faced Sale. In total all three have combined for twelve at-bats. Refsnyder has a .830 OPS against Sale in eight at-bats. No other Red Sox player has a hit against him. Refsnyder is not in the lineup, so Cooper is the only one in the lineup tonight who has faced Sale.
First pitch is at 7:20 p.m. ET