The Braves have joined the handful of teams who have the pitcher bat eighth in the lineup instead of the traditional No. 9 slot.
Manager Fredi Gonzalez said speedy rookie outfielder Mallex Smith is the impetus for the strategy. Smith has batted ninth in each of his past eight starts, including Thursday’s game against the Phillies.
“We feel like by him hitting behind the pitcher it kind of frees him up to steal a base,” Gonzalez said. “If he hits in front of the pitcher — not that you can’t steal a base with pitcher up — but sometimes with two outs you don’t want to take a chance of him getting thrown out and the pitcher leading off the next inning. Hit him ninth, and he might be able to get some lead-off (at-bats).”
The idea is that Smith would be able to get on-base with no outs and the No. 1 hitter, team RBI leader Nick Markakis, at-bat. But that scenario hasn’t happened much so far.
Through his first seven games as the No. 4 hitter, Smith led off innings five times and went 3-for-5 with two runs scored. One of those at-bats, on May 1 at the Cubs, resulted in him being thrown out when going for a triple.
“It really hasn’t materialized all that much,” Gonzalez said. “But (the pitcher) leads off and makes an out, gets him out of the way, and then Mallex is a guy there who can still do his thing.”
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