Lane

Thomas

Acuña left the ballpark without talking to the media after going 0-for-3 with a walk as a DH in Game 3. If he can’t play the outfield in Game 4, the Braves will probably start Lane Thomas in right field, and it would mean Drake Baldwin would need to catch again, keeping Sean Murphy on the bench.

Acuña appeared to suffer the injury when he slid feet-first into second on a stolen base attempt during Game 2 in Los Angeles. The 28-year-old franchise cornerstone remains in Atlanta’s lineup at DH to face Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 3 at Truist Park on Wednesday evening. It’ll be Lane Thomas heading out to take his spot in right field. It doesn’t appear to be a significant concern, but the Braves clearly aren’t going to take any chances by exposing him to additional wear and tear from a defensive standpoint that would jeopardize his availability moving forward in the postseason.

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.

Thomas missed the final three weeks of the regular season and the Wild Card series with an intercostal strain, making this his first start since Sept. 7. Ha-Seong Kim sits to make room. The lineup: C Drake Baldwin, RF Ronald Acuña Jr., 1B Matt Olson, 2B Ozzie Albies, CF Michael Harris II, SS Mauricio Dubón, DH Sean Murphy, 3B Austin Riley, LF Thomas.

Thomas was dealing with an intercostal strain and left off the Wild Card roster by Atlanta for their series against the Phillies. He, AJ Smith-Shawver and JR Ritchie are the new editions; while Dominic Smith, DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and Luke Williams have been taken off.

Lane Thomas, who finished up on the IL with an intercostal strain, is a possibility to be activated. The pitchers, though, will have to wait for a potential NLCS. Elder is coming off knee surgery and hoped to be ready for the series. Pérez missed the end of the season with a back strain.

Thomas has been sidelined since September 10th with oblique tightness and just began hitting off a tee on September 22nd. This live batting practice session gives him a good shot to be active for the NL Divisional round, where he would likely serve as a pinch hitter and starter against left-handed pitching.

Thomas, trying to make his way back from an intercostal strain, resumed hitting last week and was seen running in the outfield today. Still, he won’t be activated prior to the NLDS.

Thomas got an injection for his strained left intercostal muscle last week. He’s been shelved with the injury since Sept. 11.

He’ll likely miss the remainder of the regular season. Zero fantasy impact here outside of perhaps fewer rest days down the stretch for Atlanta’s main outfielders.