A battle of the Maxes is what stands between the Braves and avoiding their first sweep since mid-May, when they were skewered by the Blue Jays. Max Fried will look to extend a career-best stretch of solid pitching, while the bats will try to deal Max Scherzer his first bad start in Dodger blue. The Braves are without Ozzie Albies after he fouled a pitch off his knee, though x-rays were negative; Ehire Adrianza is starting in Albies’ place and batting eighth. Jorge Soler is also getting a day off today, and the Braves have reshuffled their lineup accordingly, starting Eddie Rosario in left, Joc Pederson in center (and batting leadoff), and Adam Duvall in right.
The Braves enter play today 2.5 games ahead of the Phillies, whose game in Washington DC was rained out. Win or lose, they’ll head to Colorado for a four-game set with the Rockies after this game ends. The Braves have a pretty great shot of seeing postseason play right now, but they’ve still got a lot of work to do before they can claim a fourth consecutive playoff berth.