NEW YORK — On Friday, Ramón Laureano doubled three times. Adam Duvall, after going 1-for-5 in the win, is batting .174.
Both were in the lineup because a left-handed starter was on the mound for the Yankees, and they are right-handed hitters.
On Saturday, with the Braves facing right-hander Marcus Stroman, Braves manager Brian Snitker started Laureano over Duvall in right field. He put the left-handed hitting Forrest Wall in left field.
Because he bats left-handed, Wall was an easy choice to start this game. Snitker then went with Laureano over Duvall to play the hot hand.
“Yeah, a little bit,” Snitker said before Saturday’s game. “Just give (Duvall) a day – he’ll be back in there tomorrow against a lefty. We gotta keep Laureano going. If you’re gonna hit, you’re gonna play. That’s kind of what it amounts to.”
Laureano entered Saturday 6-for-17 since the Braves called him up. He had a home run and two RBIs.
In Saturday’s 8-3 loss to the Yankees, Laureano went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
Duvall is slumping. He’s had some bad luck with flyouts that looked like home runs off the bat, but through 167 at-bats, his OPS is .558.
Versus righties, he’s hitting .096 with two doubles and two RBIs.
“He’s had his struggles,” Snitker said. “We got him to hit left-handers. Unfortunately, we lost a pretty good right-hander that we had to replace. His production against the left-handers has been really good. He’s struggled more against right-handers, which is obvious. I’ll tell you what, too: With him, it’s not for lack of effort or trying, that’s for sure. Yeah, we’re just gonna keep shuffling the deck and trying to stay afloat.”
The Braves are piecing it together in terms of filling the void left by Ronald Acuña Jr. And Michael Harris II’s absence – he’s on the injured list with a strained left hamstring – has further pressed the Braves.
Jarred Kelenic is playing every day in center field and has been the leadoff man in Harris’ absence.
The corner outfield spots? The Braves are mixing and matching there, based on the day and how guys are performing.
Winning streak against the Yankees
Friday’s win gave the Braves four in a row over the Yankees. If you remember, the Braves swept New York in a three-game set at Truist Park last season.
An interesting note via the Braves’ public relations staff: Since the start of interleague play in 1997, only one National League team has a longer win streak against the Yankees. It’s the Mets, who won six consecutive Subway Series games from 2013-14.
There are five NL teams who have won four interleague contests in a row over the Yankees. The Braves are one of them. They could’ve set themselves apart from the other four, but they lost on Saturday.
The balanced schedule – which has teams playing each club at least once per season – debuted last year.
Asked if he likes this, Snitker said: “Yeah. No, I do, I like it. I just like not playing our division so many times.”
Bullpen resets
Consecutive seven-run wins – one Wednesday, the other Friday – have helped the Braves reset the bullpen. And Thursday’s off-day helped.
In Wednesday’s victory, Snitker had to use only Aaron Bummer, Daysbel Hernández and Grant Holmes.
On Friday, Hernández, Jesse Chavez, Dylan Lee and Holmes followed Chris Sale.
Before Saturday, Raisel Iglesias, Pierce Johnson and Joe Jiménez hadn’t pitched since Tuesday against Detroit.
“It’s good,” Snitker said. “We’re in good shape today. It only takes one day to blow it up. It’s good to see different guys (in different spots). It was interesting to see Daysbel against that part of the lineup, Holmes against that part of the lineup to see how their stuff plays. It’s kind of good to see those matchups.”
On Saturday, only Bummer and Chavez pitched out of Atlanta’s bullpen.
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