Ozzie Albies is getting his first day out of the Braves’ lineup in 2026, with Mauricio Dubon stepping in at second base and batting fifth as Atlanta goes for the sweep.
Albies had started all 114 games this season, with his spot in the order moving around but his name staying on the card. On this night, the Braves are making the switch and keeping the rest of the lineup mostly intact.
Atlanta is again leaning into left-handed bats against right-hander Janson Junk, one day after stacking the order with righties against Eury Perez. Austin Riley stays in the eight-hole, and the Braves are doubling up on lefties after Dubon.
There’s at least some history with Junk, who already faced the Braves once this year. Drake Baldwin and Jim Jarvis have not seen him yet, and the sample for the others is still small.
Mike Yastrzemski has the most exposure with nine plate appearances, and the group’s combined numbers sit at a .255 xwOBA in 34 plate appearances, even though the results have been better at a .340 wOBA. Riley and Dominic Smith each connected for three-run homers off Junk earlier this season.
Miami’s lineup brought its own wrinkle after the Braves’ card was posted. Agustin Ramirez is back in the starting mix for the first time in about three months, batting third after pinch-hitting in both games of the series.
He’s spent most of that stretch in Triple-A, but the Marlins are giving him another look. Ramirez is regarded as a power bat who can at least handle catching, and while his plate discipline has been the knock, he has actually kept chase down this year with decent walk and strikeout rates.
The problem has been the quality of contact, including a heavy dose of ground balls.
The Marlins’ group has also seen plenty of Perez, but not by much in individual terms. Only six hitters in this lineup have faced him, and none more than six times.
As a unit, they’ve put up a .303 wOBA and a .345 xwOBA in 28 plate appearances. Esteury Ruiz stands out on the numbers against lefties this year, carrying a nearly .100-point gap between his .408 xwOBA and .311 wOBA in 75 plate appearances.
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Braves Were Deeper In The Ace Market Than Fans Realized
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For Atlanta, the takeaway is less about the final destination and more about how aggressively the Braves were willing to chase a top-end starter. They were not merely on the fringe of the conversation, and their involvement says plenty about how determined the front office was to fortify the rotation, even if the market ultimately broke in another direction. [Read more 🡒]