RF Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr.<\/a>(R) Quick thoughts:<\/p>\n It\u2019s mostly the usual LHP lineup for the Braves, with Eli White taking over for Mike Yastrzemski<\/a> in left field and Drake Baldwin working as the DH. The only difference here is Michael Harris II and Jonah Heim swap spots, with the hitless backup catcher dropping to the #9 spot and Harris moving up one slot. <\/p>\n 2B Ketel Marte<\/a> (S) Quick thoughts:<\/p>\n Jordan Lawlar left last night\u2019s game after being hit on the hand\/wrist by a pitch and is out of the lineup tonight, but no word on whether it\u2019s a planned absence or related to the HBP.<\/p>\n UPDATE: It\u2019s a fractured wrist, per manager Torey Lovullo<\/a>, and he\u2019ll miss six or eight weeks. The team will replace Lawlar on the active roster with catcher Adrian Del Castillo, who is currently on the injured list but ready to be activated. No word on if that\u2019ll get done prior to tonight\u2019s game. <\/p>\n No real track record against Grant Holmes<\/a> for Arizona\u2019s hitters here – Gabriel Moreno is 2-5, while Alek Thomas is 2-4 and Nolan Arenado is 1-5. <\/p>\n Quick snapshot (2025):<\/p>\n 3.99 ERA \/ 4.55 xERA \/ 3.20 FIP<\/p>\n 25.0 K% \/ 11.0 BB% \/ 3.3% HR<\/p>\n Pitch mix (avg FB velo = 95.5 mph)<\/p>\n vs RHH: 45% slider, 35% four-seam, 13% cutter, 7% curveball, <1% kick-change<\/p>\n vs LHH: 31% four-seam, 26% slider, 24% curveball, 18% cutter, 2% kick-change <\/p>\n What to watch:<\/p>\n Holmes was in the exact same velocity range for his first start of 2026 as he was in 2025 before going down with a UCL injury\/flexor strain. The only thing different with his arsenal so far this year is he\u2019s added a sinker and has (finally) started throwing the kick change a bit more, something I\u2019ve been asking for since he added it in spring training last year. <\/p>\n Quick snapshot (2025):<\/p>\n The arsenal (2025):<\/p>\n Pitch 1 = four-seamer (92.0 mph, 47% usage)<\/p>\n Pitch 2 = changeup (85.9 mph, 21% usage)<\/p>\n Pitch 3 = cutter (89.2 mph, 16% usage)<\/p>\n Pitch 4 = sinker (91.5 mph, 9% usage)<\/p>\n Pitch 5 = curveball (79.4 mph, 5% usage)<\/p>\n Pitch 6 = slider (84.6 mph, 4% usage)<\/p>\n I\u2019m going to be honest – this is a weird profile. Fastball dominant without much velocity (or success) on that fastball, backed by a changeup, then more fastball variants, and then finally some breaking balls at the tail end there. <\/p>\n (Note: He threw 28% changeup\/27% cutter\/23% four-seamer in his first start this year – was that an intentional utilization change, or just how that game unfolded?)<\/p>\n Vs RHH: reliant on speed differences<\/p>\n 48% four-seamer, 25% changeup, 19% cutter, 3% each of sinker and curveball, 2% slider<\/p>\n vs LHH: reliant on movement<\/p>\n 42% four-seamer, 29% sinker, 11% slider, 10% curveball, 5% changeup, 3% cutter<\/p>\n Sequencing (2025):<\/p>\n How to read a plinko chart: Each circle represents the usage of a pitcher\u2019s arsenal in a given count (color key below). The thickness of the connecting lines reflects how often each count occurs, helping show how a pitcher navigates an at-bat.<\/p>\n With an average spread of just six mph between his four-seamer and his changeup (the \u2018target\u2019 is more like 8 mph to 10 mph), Atlanta righties can likely sit fastball and adjust to both the changeup and cutter.<\/p>\n Lefties should instead watch specific areas of the strike zone. ERod likes to throw the heater over the plate and then run the sinker off to the corner, aiming to land the curveball middle-down and the slider on the opposite corner from the sinker. <\/p>\n Several Braves have seen Eduardo Rodriguez<\/a> a half-dozen times or more, but no real success to speak of outside of Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. (2-6) and Kyle Farmer<\/a> (4-7, HR). <\/p>\n Likely available:<\/p>\n Aaron Bummer<\/a> might get two innings, at this rate – he hasn\u2019t pitched since Monday, the only Braves reliever with this much rest. Robert Suarez<\/a> and Joel Payamps<\/a> are my other guesses for the leverage arms tonight. <\/p>\n Used recently:<\/p>\n With last night off, there\u2019s no reason to assume that either Raisel Iglesias<\/a> or Dylan Lee<\/a> have any restrictions on them entering this one. While Tyler Kinley<\/a> pitched last night, he\u2019s likely available if needed, as it was only ten pitches. <\/p>\n Potential limitations:<\/p>\n Neither Osvaldo Bido<\/a> or Jos\u00e9 Suarez<\/a> are likely available tonight, so Aaron Bummer might be the long man and if it\u2019s another blowout (either way, although we obviously want the Braves to be the one doing the blowing out), look for Kyle Farmer to get an inning on the mound. <\/p>\n Quick takeaway:<\/p>\n Likely available:<\/p>\n Last night\u2019s blowout really taxed the back end of the pen, but it was mostly thrown on long man Joe Ross<\/a>. Most of the marquee names were able to get a night off and should be available tonight. <\/p>\n UPDATE: Pregame reports<\/a> are that Joe Ross\u2019s locker has been vacated and there\u2019s one made for Taylor Rashi, who isn\u2019t a lefty but is a fresh arm. <\/p>\n Used recently:<\/p>\n Despite throwing 22 pitches last night, Kevin Ginkel<\/a> is likely available if needed\u2026but with five arms all having one day of rest (and closer Paul Sewald<\/a> having two), he probably won\u2019t be called on in this one.<\/p>\n Potential limitations:<\/p>\n Last night\u2019s blowout really taxed the back end of the pen, with Joe Ross definitely down for a few days and Andrew Hoffman<\/a> likely joining him on the bench in this one. <\/p>\n How does Arizona rebound from getting punched in the mouth last night? <\/p>\n If this one\u2019s a blowout in either direction, who pitches bulk innings for either team? <\/p>\n Does Drake Baldwin score another run tonight? Last night, he officially tied Hank Aaron<\/a> (1957) and Boston Beaneaters legend Jimmy Collins<\/a> (1900) as the franchise\u2019s only players since 1900 to score a run in each of the season\u2019s first seven games. <\/p>\n The Braves are favored in this one for a reason, and you can pick any explanation from the several in this scouting report.<\/p>\n Now if only Braves Country had a convenient way to watch it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Atlanta Braves baseball! Let\u2019s break down everything you need to know about tonight\u2019s matchup. First Pitch: 9:45…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":661724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2394],"tags":[191,46,4166,5,192,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-661723","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-braves","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-braves","10":"tag-atlantabraves","11":"tag-baseball","12":"tag-braves","13":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116343355397635697","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
DH Drake Baldwin<\/a> (L)
2B Ozzie Albies<\/a> (S)
1B Matt Olson<\/a> (L)
3B Austin Riley<\/a> (R)
LF Eli White<\/a> (R)
SS Mauricio Dub\u00f3n<\/a> (R)
CF Michael Harris II<\/a> (L)
C Jonah Heim<\/a> (S)<\/p>\n
RF Corbin Carroll<\/a> (L)
SS Geraldo Perdomo<\/a> (S)
DH Gabriel Moreno<\/a> (R)
3B Nolan Arenado<\/a> (R)
CF Alek Thomas<\/a> (L)
C James McCann (R)
1B Carlos Santana<\/a> (S)
LF Tim Tawa (R)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/61d96245-46f6-4955-9e0b-1053aa9e72c3_929x.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/fe5639bf-75b1-44ab-bc0e-cfd5765df419_1094.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/1965d804-94fe-4279-94e5-8c40a01e7b23_1093.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n