The Braves are trying to steady an offense that has gone from scorching to strangely ordinary, and Walt Weiss is leaning into some lineup shuffling to do it. Against a Nationals club that still brings plenty of punch, Atlanta is keeping Ha-Seong Kim in the mix and bumping Sean Murphy up to sixth.
That’s the latest wrinkle after the Braves’ sweep of the Dodgers briefly put them atop the league in wins against teams above .500. Since then, they’ve dropped two games to sub-.500 opponents, a reminder that this lineup has been a big part of the team’s recent up-and-down stretch.
The season numbers still look strong on the surface - only eight teams have scored more runs than Atlanta - but the post-All-Star break slide tells a different story. Since the break, only seven teams have scored fewer runs, while the pitching has been left to carry too much of the load. That’s not a great place to be with Washington bringing one of the league’s weaker pitching staffs into the matchup.
There are still a few bright spots in the recent offensive picture. Over the last two weeks, Michael Harris has been on a tear with a 200 wRC+, Sean Murphy has followed close behind at 181, and Drake Baldwin has posted a 126. Kim has also looked good in his limited five-game sample, and his 135 wRC+ since he started seeing more action made his return to the lineup a natural call, especially after he went 3-for-3 last night.
Dubón is the one getting the day off, which opens the door for Kim to stay in the lineup. Weiss also chose to ride the hot hand with Murphy moving up to sixth, a move that adds a little more firepower deeper in the order.
One of the more interesting sights is Ozzie Albies batting cleanup against a right-hander, but there’s logic there too. He owns a .929 OPS against Lord, and with Lord likely serving only as an opener, building the lineup around the traditional starting pitcher matchup matters a little less.
Washington, for its part, has been one of the better run-scoring teams in baseball all year, sitting second behind the Cubs. The Nationals have slipped some since the trade deadline after losing two of their best bats to trades or injuries, but they still rank eighth in runs scored since then.
James Wood is back in the lineup for the Nationals as well, which gives them another major lift.
For Atlanta, the assignment is straightforward: get to the bullpen early and keep the pressure on. Holmes will need to keep an eye on Dylan Crews, James Wood and Daylen Lile, who has given him trouble in a small sample. Crews and Wood have each homered off him in six at-bats, even though both are hitting just .167 against him, while Lile has taken him deep twice in only four at-bats.
The Braves don’t need a perfect offensive night. They just need one that looks a lot more like the version that showed up against the Dodgers than the one that’s been stumbling through games they should be winning.
In Other News...
Which Braves Prospects Are Suddenly Closest To Atlanta
The Braves farm system has started to feel a little more immediate, with several of the organizations top young arms and bats moving into the part of their development where Atlanta can realistically start mapping out timelines. Owen Murphy, John Gil and Eric Hartman are among the prospects drawing the most attention right now, not just because of their talent, but because of the way their current minor league performances are nudging them closer to the big-league conversation.
For a club that always has one eye on the future, that matters because the next wave may arrive sooner than the usual wait-and-see approach suggests. The evaluation here is still built on minor league production and projection rather than any firm major league plans, but it does give Braves fans a clearer sense of which names could matter in the near term and which ones are shaping up as longer-view bets. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Division Lead Faces A New Test In Phillies Showdown
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One of the more interesting additions for Philadelphia has been Luis Arrez, who arrived Aug. 3 and has already changed the look of the lineup in the way Kyle Schwarber described. Schwarber pointed to Arrezs low-strikeout, high-contact style as a welcome layer of diversity, and that extra approach could matter in a matchup where every at-bat starts to carry a little more weight. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Rotation Shuffle Puts Bryce Elder In An Awkward Spot
The Braves are making another adjustment to their rotation as they prepare for their next meeting with the Phillies, with Grant Holmes set to take the ball instead of Bryce Elder. It is the latest sign that Atlanta is trying to thread the needle between getting more out of the matchup and keeping its pitching staff in a workable rhythm, especially after Holmes rain-shortened outing and Elders recent struggles.
Elder now finds himself in an awkward spot, waiting while the Braves sort through how best to handle him and manage his rest. The timing matters, too, because the series offers Atlanta a chance to tighten things up against a division rival, and every pitching decision carries a little more weight when the margin for error feels thin. [Read more 🡒]