HOUSTON - The Braves rolled out their expected lineup for the National League Division Series Game 1 against Sandy Alcantara and the Marlins on Tuesday.
Despite Alcantara faring much worse against lefties, the Braves didn’t adjust their lineup. They have two left-handed bats, Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis, along with switch-hitter Ozzie Albies in the lineup. The other six hitters are righties.
Left-handed hitters slashed .268/.366/.493 with seven doubles and three homers in 71 at-bats against Alcantara this season. Compare that with righties' results: .190/.236/.238 with one double and one homer in 84 at-bats.
“Our lineup is what it is no matter who we face,” manager Brian Snitker said. “We’ve worked really hard the last few years trying to establish a lineup, and now we have one. I like that.”
Alcantara owns a 2.41 ERA against the Braves in three appearances, though he didn’t face them this season. The right-hander allowed one run over 6-2/3 innings in his last outing, in which the Marlins defeated the Cubs in Game 1 of their wild-card series.
Notes from Tuesday:
- How important are Game 1s for the Braves? They’re 12-4 when winning the series opener and 3-17 when losing it. League-wide, the team that wins Game 1 of a best-of-five advances 70 percent of the time.
- This is the third time the Braves have faced a National League East opponent in the postseason. The Marlins defeated them 4-2 in the 1997 NL Championship Series. The Braves beat the Mets 4-2 in the 1999 NLCS to advance to their most recent World Series.
- The Braves are comfortable using some of their relievers three days in a row, if needed, Snitker said. There won’t be any off-days during this series, which means traditional postseason strategy doesn’t apply. The Braves carried 15 pitchers on their 28-man roster, including several who can cover multiple innings.
- Marlins outfielder Starling Marte was left off their NLDS roster. Marte suffered a hand fracture when he was hit by a pitch during Miami’s wild-card series against the Cubs. He was considered day-to-day, but he won’t face the Braves after all.
- When asked if slugger Marcell Ozuna would have any extra motivation facing his former team, Snitker said: “Being around Marcell, the game itself is enough motivation for him. … The competition in itself feeds this guy.”
The Marlins traded Ozuna to the Cardinals after the 2017 season. Among the players Miami acquired was Alcantara, who starts Game 1, and Daniel Castano, whom the Braves could see later in the series.
- Ian Anderson, who will start Game 2 for the Braves on Wednesday, praised the Marlins' offense before Game 1.
“It’s a lineup that presents some different challenges than some of the other lineups we’ve faced,” he said. “Compared to Cincinnati, they’re completely on the other side of the spectrum. They can run. They have some guys who like to put the ball in play and put up tough at-bats. It’s definitely more of a grind to get through that lineup.”
- Here is the Braves' lineup for Game 1 against Alcantara:
CF Ronald Acuna
1B Freddie Freeman
DH Marcell Ozuna
C Travis d’Arnaud
2B Ozzie Albies
SS Dansby Swanson
LF Adam Duvall
RF Nick Markakis
3B Austin Riley
