Braves Stick with Hot-Hitting Inciarte And Kakes in Effort to Even Series with Dodgers

While platoons certainly add value to a team’s offense in baseball, sometimes it is simply best to go with the hot hand. And that is exactly what Brian Snitker is and should be doing. While Johan Camargo has produced a 1.012 OPS against lefties this season, Ender Inciarte has been almost as impressive with a .928 OPS. Nick Markakis is sitting at a 1.242 OPS in the month of May. With Camargo 4-24 in his last seven appearances. and runs likely being at a premium in this game, Atlanta also has incentive to go with the better defensive outfield.

The Dodgers counter with a platoon heavy lineup of their own, but the weak part of it is the right handed hitters. As mentioned in the preview, Dodgers’ right handed hitters have produced a .710 OPS against southpaws this year. In contrast, Max Muncy and Alex Verdugo actually have higher OPS marks versus lefties than righties, currently sitting at 1.072 and 1.011, respectively. Those marks are actually higher than early MVP candidate Cody Bellinger, who is struggling with a 1.004 OPS against lefties (sarcasm). The end result seems to be that if Max Fried can keep the right handers off the base paths and the three left handers in the ballpark, the Braves may have their best chance to win.