The Braves enter this one searching for offense, and the numbers paint a pretty blunt picture. Atlanta has been stuck in a month-long slump at the plate, with only eight MLB teams scoring fewer runs in August. That leaves little margin for error against Jacob Misiorowski, who has been the best pitcher on the planet right now, especially with the Phillies creeping up the standings.
Atlanta’s August production has been narrow at best. Only three Braves have posted a wRC+ above league average this month: Matt Olson, Mike Yastrzemski, and Austin Riley.
That has made the daily lineup a talking point, and Dominic Smith remains one of the biggest head-scratchers for fans. He was strong early in the season, but he has fallen off hard, and his August wRC+ sits 36.0 percent below league average, better than only Albies, Murphy, and Jarvis.
There is at least one small change that stands out here: Dubón is at shortstop instead of Jarvis. That means the Braves avoid one of the more frustrating recent lineup choices, even if the broader offensive issues are still front and center.
The matchup with Misiorowski is also a tricky one on paper. None of the Braves in today’s lineup has faced him in more than three at-bats, and nobody in the group owns an OPS above .666 against him.
Smith may have gotten the nod in part because he is one of only four Braves to record a single off The Miz. Albies, Dubón, and Riley are the others.
There is a little bit of intrigue lower in the order too, because two of the Braves’ three hottest hitters this month are batting eighth and ninth.
On the other side, the Brewers are rolling out a strong lineup against Sale. Chourio has had success against him before, posting a .917 OPS in 12 career at-bats. Contreras, Ortiz, and Vaughn are also worth watching, since each carries an OPS above .803 in seven or more at-bats against Sale.
If Atlanta is going to get this done, the path is pretty clear: score early. Milwaukee’s bullpen has been the best in MLB since the start of the month by ERA, and it is not particularly close.
In Other News...
Braves Bullpen Squeeze Could End A Veteran Relievers Atlanta Run
The Braves bullpen shuffle took another turn when Tyler Kinley was designated for assignment and then released after clearing waivers, a move driven by the clubs need to recall AJ Smith-Shawver and settle into a six-man rotation. For Atlanta, it was another reminder of how quickly roster math can change when pitching depth and workload management become part of the daily equation.
Kinleys departure leaves open a familiar question for a veteran reliever who spent time in Atlanta: whether the door is still open for a return, or whether another team will jump in first. A minor league deal with the Braves remains possible, but for now his next stop is unsettled, and the bullpen squeeze that pushed him out may not be the last roster decision tied to the rotation plan. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Are Paying For Offseason Mistakes In All The Wrong Spots
The Braves spent the winter trying to patch together a roster that already had a few pressure points, and the early returns have shown how thin the margin was. Atlanta did not add the kind of impact starting pitcher that can steady a staff over a long season, and the move to commit money to Ha-Seong Kim on a one-year deal has left the club trying to justify value in places where it needed cleaner answers. Add in the continued absence of a true right-handed outfield presence, and the roster construction starts to look less like a plan and more like a series of bets.
Those choices have become even more noticeable because the bullpen has not been able to cushion the mistakes. Injuries have complicated the relief mix, and the underperformance from multiple arms has left the Braves without much room to hide when games start tilting the wrong way. For a team built to contend, the frustration is not just what went wrong in the offseason, but how those misses are showing up in the exact spots where Atlanta needed stability the most. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Lineup Debate Is Putting Sean Murphy In The Spotlight
The Braves lineup choices have started to draw extra scrutiny, and Sean Murphy is right in the middle of it. Atlanta has leaned on Jim Jarvis at shortstop instead of Mauricio Dubon, while Murphys role has remained more limited than some around the club would prefer. For a lineup trying to squeeze out every bit of offense, those decisions have become part of the bigger conversation about how the Braves are deploying the roster.
Murphys track record is part of why the discussion keeps circling back to him. When healthy, he has shown the kind of production that makes him look like more than just a part-time catcher, and the argument for getting him into the lineup more often is hard to ignore. The question now is whether Atlanta keeps handling things this way, or whether the recent debate pushes the Braves toward a setup that better matches their offensive ceiling. [Read more 🡒]