Nicky Lopez starts at shortstop in Game 1 of Saturday’s twin bill

Brian Snitker has made a rare realignment of the lineup, in contrast to the approximately identical lineup he has run out for the last few months. Nicky Lopez gets the start at shortstop in place of Orlando Arcia. It isn’t a bad idea to give the regulars some rest, especially on a doubleheader day in the middle of a long stretch without rest and Lopez is a truly elite defensive shortstop, which will likely help Allan Winans in trying to keep the Mets’ offense down. Meanwhile Sean Murphy is moving down to seventh in the order, after the catcher’s spot has been batting fifth for the last while. This comes as Murphy has produced closer to a 110 wRC+ since the beginning of July than the ~150 wRC+ he had been putting out earlier in the season.

On the other side, Franciso Lindor continues to sit out with injury and Brandon Nimmo gets a game off in the day game, giving the Braves an even bigger talent advantage than they already had.