The Braves will welcome Ozzie Albies again Friday. Supervisor Brian Snitker confirmed after Thursday’s 15-3 drubbing of the Reds that Atlanta will activate Albies from the 10-day injured record (hyperlink through Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). They’ve been with out their star second baseman for nearly two months due to a left wrist fracture. The Braves might want to create an energetic roster spot for his activation
Albies nonetheless feels discomfort when he hits from the left aspect. He’ll restrict himself to the right-handed batter’s field because of this. That’s his far stronger aspect typically. Albies is a profession .339/.364/.568 hitter in opposition to left-handed pitching. He has a roughly common .247/.309/.437 slash versus righties. His activity as a right-handed batter shall be tougher with out all the time having the platoon benefit (to say nothing of the problem of leaping again to motion after an eight-week absence). Nonetheless, if Albies had to decide on a aspect of the plate, he’d actually decide this one.
It’s crunch time for Atlanta. The Braves are 1.5 video games behind the Diamondbacks and Mets for the ultimate playoff spot within the Nationwide League (pending Arizona’s and New York’s Thursday’s outcomes). Atlanta holds the tiebreaker over Arizona. They’ve break up the season collection with the Mets and can resolve that tiebreaker with a three-game set at house early subsequent week. That appears as if it’ll be the most important regular-season collection of the yr for any group.
Atlanta is headed to Miami for a three-game weekend set. They’re off on Monday earlier than closing their season with the Mets and three video games in opposition to the Royals (who is likely to be preventing for their very own playoff lives) at house. The Mets are internet hosting the Phillies for 4 this weekend earlier than closing their season with highway units in Atlanta and Milwaukee. Arizona has a four-game collection in Milwaukee and can play host to the Giants and Padres for 3 apiece subsequent week.
The Braves have had a middle-of-the-pack offense for the previous couple months. They’re thirteenth in scoring because the Albies damage, with equally middling showings in on-base proportion (sixteenth) and slugging (twelfth). Atlanta second basemen are hitting .220/.319/.296 throughout 216 plate appearances in that stretch. That’s weighed down by dreadful small-sample performances from Luke Williams and prospect Nacho Alvarez Jr. The Braves have given many of the second base reps to Whit Merrifield, who has reached base at a powerful .344 clip however hasn’t supplied any sort of energy since signing with Atlanta.
Merrifield has loads of expertise bouncing across the diamond. If Snitker wished to maintain him within the lineup, he’d in all probability kick him to 3rd base and bench Gio Urshela. The veteran nook infielder is hitting .234/.258/.340 over 26 video games as a Courageous. Urshela signed an enormous league deal within the wake of Austin Riley’s damage, not lengthy after Urshela was launched by the Tigers.
