The Braves have a shaken, maybe somewhat-stirred lineup for Friday night’s series opener against the Blue Jays in Dunedin, FL:
Drew Smyly takes the mound tonight vs. the Blue Jays.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 30, 2021
Presented by @TruistNews | #ForTheA pic.twitter.com/e9B9lK3PQT
Needles to say, this is a very new look — Acuña hasn’t yet played an inning of center field this season, and the effect of the move is to give Ehire Adrianza another start in right field in lieu of Guillermo Heredia, who’s been manning center recently.
In addition, Alex Jackson starts behind the dish, but Travis d’Arnaud remains in the lineup hitting fifth — just as the DH.
This is how the six guys in the lineup that have faced Robbie Ray before have fared against him — as usual, more of a curiosity than anything with meaning. Not a lot of familiarity here, in any case, and Adrianza and Jackson’s presence in the lineup has little to do with any kind of history with Ray.
The Blue Jays, meanwhile, will greet the Braves like this:
Welcome back, @TeoscarH #WeAreBlueJays pic.twitter.com/ku4FVH1JcR
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 30, 2021
Teoscar Hernandez is newly reinstated after a COVID-19-related absence. George Springer will be playing in just his second game this season, after missing most of April with an injury. The Blue Jays have mixed and matched their lineup all season, so this is no different. They’ve only used the same lineup a max of two times so far.