The Braves on Sunday faced the second of four consecutive left-handed starting pitchers they’re expected to see, matching the total number of lefty starters they faced in the season’s first 31 games.
This should be a boon for the Braves, who led the majors in batting average (.296), on-base percentage (.356) and slugging percentage (.496) against lefty pitchers before Sunday’s game against Giants lefty Andrew Suarez. The Braves’ .852 OPS vs. lefties was 50 points above the majors’ next-best before Sunday, Tampa Bay’s .802.
Braves second baseman and leadoff man Ozzie Albies was 15-for-31 (.484) with six doubles, four homers and only three strikeouts against lefties entering Sunday, the best average in the majors among qualifiers. His 1.147 slugging percentage and 1.533 OPS vs. lefties ranked second in the majors behind the Padres’ Christian Villanueva (1.147/1.607).
The Braves faced Giants lefty Ty Blauch on Saturday – he limited them to seven hits and two runs (one earned) in 7-2/3 innings – and were expected to face Rays lefties Blake Snell (4-1, 2.55 ERA) and Ryan Yarbrough (2-1, 3.33 ERA) in a two-game road series Tuesday and Wednesday, though the Rays hadn’t officially named a starter yet for Wednesday.
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