Both guys had pinch hits last night as the Braves lost the series
With southpaw Martin Perez on the mound for Pittsburgh, and Chadwick Tromp getting the start last night, the Braves are adding both Adam Duvall and Travis d’Arnaud into tonight’s lineup.
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— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 26, 2024
Everything else here is pretty much what you’d expect. While d’Arnaud’s playing time will probably get more limited with the imminent return of Sean Murphy, it’s worth noting that he currently has a .375 xwOBA, while Murphy finished last year at .395. The upgrade from one of those guys over Tromp is substantial, but Tromp hasn’t been playing that much, so Murphy’s return won’t be akin to finally getting Austin Riley back and getting Zack Short out of the lineup.
This is the first time the Braves have used this particular lineup; they are 3-1 so far with this specific starting nine.
The Pirates, meanwhile, have a slightly different lineup than they’ve used earlier in this series:
Joey Bart and Alika Williams are the two guys that haven’t started earlier in this series. As noted yesterday, the Pirates don’t really ever use the same lineup twice; this will be their 52nd different lineup in 54 games. The only other time they used this same starting nine, they lost 1-0 to the Cubs.