d’Arnaud back and hitting sixth, Arcia drops to ninth as Braves go for series win over Oakland

Michael Harris II returns to the leadoff spot against righty Aaron Brooks

Another day, another makeshift lineup as the Braves attempt to navigate the loss of Ronald Acuña Jr. Today, Travis d’Arnaud returns to the lineup and slides into the sixth spot in the order, while Orlando Arcia drops to ninth and Michael Harris II moves back to the leadoff spot against a right-handed starter.

This is yet another novel lineup for the Braves; Arcia has hit third only twice before today. After this game, the Braves will have used 34 different starting lineups in 56 games. They’re 0-1 with this starting nine so far, using it only in the 7-2 loss to the Nationals (Spencer Schwellenbach’s MLB debut) so far.

Meanwhile, the Athletics will give the Braves a very different look on Saturday compared to Friday’s game:

Miguel Andujar will bat second for the first time all season; the same also goes for Daz Cameron and hitting fifth. The Athletics have only doubled up on a batting order twice all season, so after today, they’ll have used 58 different lineups in 60 games. They have also never used this arrangement defensively before.

One amusing thing about this game is that for various reasons, both lineups haven’t really seen the opposing starter before. Literally none of the Braves’ starting nine have ever faced Aaron Brooks, though Matt Olson was his teammate in 2019. Brent Rooker, Andujar, and Aledmys Diaz are the only three members of Oakland’s lineup to ever stand in against Sale. These three guys collectively have two walks, a single, and four strikeouts in 12 PAs against the veteran left-hander, with none of the plate appearances coming more recently than 2021.