Atlanta Braves lineup: Sean Newcomb pitches Adeiny Hechavarria plays second

Atlanta Braves lineup shuffled as they rest last year’s NL leader in hits for game one of the Mets series. Adeiny Hechavarria gets the start at second.

Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker continues to rest key players during the season-opening 20-game stretch without an off-day.

He gave Matt Adams a start at first base and rested Freddie Freeman by using him as DH against Tampa, tonight Ozzie Albies gets the night off, and Adeiny Hechavarria gets a start at second.

Like a long list of players, Albies started the 2020 season slowly, batting .194/.219/.335/.574, with one homer and two doubles in his six hits from 31 AB. All of those hits came when batting left-handed. Hitting from the right side, Albies is 0-9 with a walk.

The season is young, and the sample size small, Ozzie will hit, and when he breaks out, the league will know it. David O’Brien Tweeted late this afternoon that Albies reported a sore/stiff wrist after last night’s game, but Kevin McAlpin added he should return for Saturday’s game.

Snitker filled the hole at the top by sliding Dansby Swanson into the two-slot. The Braves shortstop has been on a tear since the season started, batting .370/.370/.667/1.037 in seven games, including two homers. He’s tied for the league lead in RBI with nine and a tied for second in hits with ten.

Last season, Swanson batted .269/.332/.469/.801 when hitting second 305 PA – 275 AB) in 65 games, including 17 doubles and a dozen homers.

The Mets released Hechavarria on August 14 last year; two days later he joined the Atlanta Braves to fill in for the injured Swanson and rapidly became a fan favorite with sterling play on the field and a .328/.400/.639/1.039 line that included four homers and five doubles in 70 PA.

About the pitching

Meanwhile, Sean Newcomb gets another chance to be the starter the Braves so badly need behind Mike Soroka and Max Fried.

In his first start of the season against the Mets on Sunday, Newcomb had trouble finding the strike zone. Encouragement from rookie catcher Alex Jackson helped him out of one jam, but the mound visit from Snitker soon after was a one-way conversation.

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Newcomb failed to respond and left the game after throwing 42 strikes in his 82 pitches and allowing one run on three hits while walking two and striking out one. Jhoulys Chacin entered the game and put out the fire, making Newcomb’s ERA look a lot better than he pitched.

Perhaps having veteran backstop Travis d’Arnaud calling the game will make a difference. It was just over two years ago, July 29,2018, that Newcomb flashed what his stuff says he can become, throwing 8-2/3 innings of no-hit, shutout ball against the eventual NL West Champion Dodgers with Kurt Suzuki behind the dish.

Kevin McAlpin reports that Will Smith’s side session went off without a hitch today. According to the manager Snitker, he’ll throw to hitters in two days and a sim-game a couple of days later. There’s no timetable, but he might get back by the end of the homestand.

That’s a wrap

The Atlanta Braves see Rick Porcello again tonight. Last time out, Porcello wasn’t effective, and the Braves got into the bullpen, Let’s hope the lineup can repeat that tonight.

The Braves announced that Touki Toussaint gets the ball tomorrow, taking the rotation spot vacated by Mike Foltynewicz’s DFA earlier this week. I’ve been aboard the Touki train since he arrived, and hope he seizes the opportunity to show off a curve that can look just as devastating as Fried’s.

Touki faces the same issues as Newcomb, pounding the zone with his fastball to make his curve a bigger weapon. Five innings without a bunch of walks would start the weekend right.