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It\u2019s Atlanta Braves baseball! Let\u2019s break down everything you need to know about tonight\u2019s matchup. <\/p>\n
First Pitch: <\/strong>7:15 PM ET<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Location: <\/strong>Truist Park, Atlanta<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n TV: <\/strong>BravesVision, simulcast on Gray TV <\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Radio: <\/strong>680 AM\/93.7 FM The Fan; Spanish-language broadcast on La Mejor 1600\/1460\/1130 AM<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Weather: <\/strong>79\u00b0 and partially cloudy, 12 mph wind<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n RF <\/span>Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr.<\/a> (R)<\/span> Quick thoughts:<\/strong><\/p>\n Manager <\/span>Walt Weiss<\/a> indicated yesterday that he\u2019d go with Heim as the catcher and Baldwin as the DH. I\u2019m assuming Heim\u2019s 95 wRC+ against lefties in the last three seasons (as opposed to an 80 wRC+ versus RHP in that same span) is the reason why. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n It\u2019s been an open question of whether or not the Braves would let <\/span>Mike Yastrzemski<\/a> face lefties as part of the regular lineup. For at least one day, they are not doing that, instead going with White in left. I\u2019d imagine Yastrzemski is the first pinch-hitter off the bench, though. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n I honestly did not expect to see Albies in the #3 hole and then a run of three straight righties later in the order – breaking them up with something like Albies\/White\/Dub\u00f3n would have made more sense to me. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n 3B <\/span>Maikel Garcia<\/a> (R)<\/span> Quick thoughts:<\/strong><\/p>\n As expected, a heavy platoon lineup here, with lefties <\/span>Jac Caglianone<\/a> and <\/span>Kyle Isbel<\/a> taking a seat for veterans Starling Marte and Lane Thomas. Might be an opportunity here for Atlanta with regards to balls in play, as neither Thomas in center nor Marte in right grades out to be very good defenders at this point in their careers. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Perez-Pasquantino-Marte might collectively be the slowest 4-6 hitters playing today. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n Jensen\u2019s struggled with lefties in the minors until last season, when he hit .290 off of them in Double and Triple-A. Don\u2019t know how predictive it is, given it was only 143 PAs, but don\u2019t be shocked if Collins and Jensen end up being pesky down there. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Quick snapshot (2025):<\/strong><\/p>\n 2.58 ERA \/ 2.85 xERA \/ 2.67 FIP<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 32.4 K% \/ 6.3 BB% \/ 2.2% HR<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Pitch mix (avg FB velo = 94.8 mph)<\/p>\n vs RHH: 46% slider, 44% 4SFB, 9% changeup, 1% sinker<\/p>\n<\/li>\n vs LHH: 51% SL, 31% 4SFB, 15% sinker, 2% changeup<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n What to watch:<\/strong><\/p>\n No historical problems for Sale with this Royals lineup – no one has more than 7 at-bats off of Sale in their career but Salvador P\u00e9rez, and he\u2019s hitting .265 with a .628 OPS and just one homer\/ four RBI in his 68 career at-bats.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The game plan for Sale doesn\u2019t really change, regardless of handedness: Equal use of fastballs and sliders early, and as soon as he\u2019s ahead in the count, start ripping sliders for whiffs. The only difference is that lefties see a distribution of two parts four-seamers to one part sinkers, while righties are almost exclusively four-seamers. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n Milestone watch<\/strong>: Sale is six strikeouts away from having 50 on Opening Day. 13 of the 18 pitches in MLB history to do that are in the Hall of Fame, and the remaining five are mostly inclusion-worthy names in <\/span>Justin Verlander<\/a>, <\/span>Max Scherzer<\/a>, <\/span>Clayton Kershaw<\/a>, <\/span>Roger Clemens<\/a>, and <\/span>Mickey Lolich<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n The arsenal (2025):<\/strong><\/p>\n Pitch 1 = 4S FB, 49% usage, 95.3 mph<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Pitch 2 = changeup, 19% usage<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Pitch 3 = slider, 14% usage<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Pitch 4 = curveball, 13%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Pitch 5 = cutter, 5% usage <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Ragans was one of the best pitchers in baseball last year at getting whiffs (34.8%, 98th percentile) and strikeouts (38.1%, 100th percentile). He gets an above-average amount of chase (68th percentile mark of 29.8%), but he is willing and able to challenge you in the zone. He\u2019s an Opening Day starter for a reason, folks.<\/p>\n
DH <\/span>Drake Baldwin<\/a> (L)<\/span>
2B <\/span>Ozzie Albies<\/a> (S)<\/span>
1B <\/span>Matt Olson<\/a> (L)<\/span>
3B <\/span>Austin Riley<\/a> (R)<\/span>
LF <\/span>Eli White<\/a> (R)<\/span>
SS <\/span>Mauricio Dub\u00f3n<\/a> (R)<\/span>
C <\/span>Jonah Heim<\/a> (S)<\/span>
CF <\/span>Michael Harris II<\/a> (L)<\/span><\/p>\n\n
SS <\/span>Bobby Witt Jr.<\/a> (R)<\/span>
CF <\/span>Lane Thomas<\/a> (R)<\/span>
C <\/span>Salvador Perez<\/a> (R)<\/span>
1B <\/span>Vinnie Pasquantino<\/a> (L)<\/span>
RF <\/span>Starling Marte<\/a> (R)<\/span>
2B <\/span>Jonathan India<\/a> (R)<\/span>
LF <\/span>Isaac Collins<\/a> (S)<\/span>
DH <\/span>Carter Jensen<\/a> (L)<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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