Michael Harris in the lineup against a lefty

Michael Harris seemingly was a platoon player, but he is now back to hitting against LHP starters tonight.

The Atlanta Braves are taking on the Athletics in the finale of the series looking to take their first series win this season while in the state of California.

One of the biggest questions in almost every single game is how the offense will produce. Yesterday the offense was fantastic, but the game prior it was a total dud. This has not strictly been based on what pitchers they face either, so today it can be argued that the same question remains on how the offense will do.

The Braves seemed to be sitting Michael Harris against lefties for the foreseeable future. JP Sears is a lefty so it could have been assumed before the lineup dropped that Harris would not start the game. We also would have the almost daily question of who will be playing catcher. Both of those have been answered, and if you assumed Harris would sit, that assumption would have been wrong.

Sean Murphy will be the catcher that will get the start tonight.

No player on the Braves’ roster has more than seven ABs against Sears. In that small sample the Braves have struggled a bit against Sears. Acuña Jr. is hitless in two ABs, Riley has a .286 OPS in seven ABs, Ozuna has a .400 OPS in five ABs, Murphy has a .143 OPS in six ABs, and Albies has a .167 OPS in five ABs.

Interestingly some players who have been struggling mightily this season have done well against Sears. Allen has a 1.000 OPS in his three at-bats, and Michael Harris has a .800 OPS in his five at-bats.

Of course, all these sample sizes are extremely small, so it is hard to use them as a true gauge on how the players will do.

Spencer Strider is on the bump for the Braves, and with the Athletics being in the AL and having a relatively young team, only two hitters on their roster have ever faced him. Both are catchers too. Former touted Braves prospect Shea Langeliers has two ABs against Strider and is hitless. Austin Wynns has faced Strider in four ABs and has a 2.500 OPS to include a HR and four RBI.

Wynns will be getting the start at catcher. The only other difference in positions from last night is that Miguel Andujar will be getting the start at 3B over old friend Gio Urshula.

First pitch is at 9:05 EDT.