Ha-Seong

Kim

Kim was out of the lineup for Game 2 against the Dodgers, as they went with a left-handed heavy group against Blake Snell for that contest. Mauricio
Dubón moves to left field, and Lane Thomas will open the game on the bench. The full lineup for the pivotal third game against Yoshinobu Yamamoto: C Drake Baldwin, RF Ronald Acuña Jr. 1B Matt Olson, 2B Ozzie Albies, CF Michael Harris II, LF

Dubón, DH Sean Murphy, 3B Austin Riley and Kim at short with Chris Sale on the mound. It’s a small sample, but Kim has hit Yamamoto well; going 3-for-7 with a homer off him thus far.

Lane Thomas is back, so the Braves could have put him in left field and used Mauricio Dubón at shortstop against lefty Tarik Skubal. However, since Thomas hasn’t played in weeks and is 0-for-7 with five strikeouts lifetime against Skubal, he’s not starting today. The lineup: DH Drake Baldwin, RF Ronald Acuña Jr., 2B Ozzie Albies, 1B Matt Olson, CF Michael Harris II, LF Dubón, 3B Austin Riley, C Sean Murphy, SS Kim.

It’s the first start of the series for Smith, who has appeared as a pinch-hitter and struck out in each of the first two games. Mike Yastrzemski will also return to the starting lineup for Game 3 after sitting in Game 2. Sean Murphy and Ha-Seong Kim will open the game on the bench for the Braves. Here’s the full lineup that the Braves will deploy in a must-win game against Phillies’ right-hander Aaron Nola: Drake Baldwin (C), Ronald Acuña Jr. (RF), Matt Olson (1B), Michael Harris II (CF), Mauricio Dubon (SS), Mike Yastrzemski (LF) Austin Riley (3B), Ozzie Albies (2B) and Dominic Smith (DH)

Kim has now started five of the last six games at shortstop, even mixing in against right-handers too. He is 4-for-12 with one run and one RBI over the previous four starts, but three of those hits came in one game against the Nationals. Mauricio Dubon has been playing in the outfield more often over that stretch.

It looks to be nothing more than a routine day of rest for the 36-year-old outfielder. Mauricio Dubon will cover left field in his absence while Ha-Seong Kim starts at shortstop and will bat ninth against Rockies’ right-hander Mason Adams.

The 30-year-old infielder recorded one of just four Braves’ hits in the contest with a one-out single off of Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the third inning. He then swiped second base to get himself into scoring position, but the Braves couldn’t cash him in from there. He struck out in each of his other two plate appearances on the day and is slashing a cringe-inducing .088/.180/.088 over 89 plate appearances on the season.

Kim delivered a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to propel the Braves to victory over the Dodgers, and seemingly as a reward he gets his name on the lineup card the next day. He has been abysmal at the plate this season, hitting .078 (6-for-77) with no homers, five RBI and a 23/9 K/BB ratio in 86 plate appearances.

Kim was 5-for-76 on the season and hadn’t had an at-bat in 11 days, but the Braves picked him over lefty swinging Dominic Smith to face Tanner Scott in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth tonight and he came through with a 103-mph line drive to left on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Kim, who spent the month of the July on the IL, had been 0-for-27 since he last singled on June 3. Maybe the big hit will get him a start at shortstop this weekend. He’s gotten just one of those since being activated on Aug. 1.

Jarvis has seemingly taken over as Atlanta’s primary shortstop, even with Ha-Seong Kim back from the injured list, starting three of their last five games with Kim and Mauricio Dubón splitting the other two. The unheralded 25-year-old is hitting just .239/.287/.352 with one homer and 10 RBI across 97 plate appearances. He’ll need a strong finish to have any chance of being in the mix as an everyday option entering next season, lockout or not. Atlanta is going to be linked to a ton of shortstops in offseason trade rumors with Jarvis seemingly a stronger fit as a multi-position role player moving forward.

Kim returns to Atlanta’s roster for Tuesday’s series opener against the Marlins. The 30-year-old has been out since early July with right middle finger inflammation. He’s been a complete non-factor at the plate this season and can be ignored for fantasy purposes.