The Scouting Report: Braves versus Marlins, Game 2
Lineups, pitching matchup, bullpen status, and what to watch this evening
It’s Atlanta Braves baseball! Let’s break down everything you need to know about tonight’s matchup.
Game Info
First Pitch: 7:15 PM ET
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta
TV: BravesVision
Radio: 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM
Weather: 83° and mostly sunny, wind SW at 8 mph
Today’s Lineups
Atlanta Braves
RF Ronald Acuña Jr.
C Drake Baldwin
1B Matt Olson
3B Austin Riley
LF Mike Yastrzemski
2B Ozzie Albies
DH Dominic Smith
CF Michael Harris II
SS Mauricio Dubón
Quick thoughts:
Fresh off of getting an RBI single and stealing a base last night, Yastrzemski maintains his new 5th spot in the order. No changes here for Atlanta.
Miami Marlins
CF Jakob Marsee (L)
2B Xavier Edwards (S)
C Agustín Ramírez (R)
1B Liam Hicks (L)
SS Otto Lopez (R)
RF Owen Caissie (L)
DH Connor Norby (R)
LF Javier Sanoja (R)
3B Graham Pauley (L)
Quick thoughts:
Ramírez moves behind the plate, while last night’s catcher Hicks moves to first base. Atlanta’s runners need to be prepared for passed balls, as Ramírez is not a very good defensive catcher. He finished 2025 with -28 Run Value on Blocks Above Average and -10 at Caught Stealing Above Average, both 1st percentile marks.
Pitching Matchup
Braves Starter: Reynaldo López (1-0, 1.15 ERA)
Quick snapshot:
1.15 ERA / 3.72 xERA / 5.17 FIP
20.6 K% / 7.9 BB% / 4.8% HR rate
Pitch mix
vs RHH: 59% four-seamer, 34% slider, 7% curveball
vs LHH: 45% four-seamer, 34% slider, 13% curveball, 8% changeup
What’s changed in 2026:
Not much of anything, except for the fact he hasn’t thrown a changeup to a righty yet.
What to watch:
López is trending towards the lowest hard-hit rate of his starting career at 34.9%. Is this a small sample size, a function of the teams he’s faced, or something sticky in the way he’s able to keep barrels off the ball?
Opposing Starter: RHP Max Meyer (1-0, 3.68)
Quick snapshot:
3.68 ERA / 5.42 xERA / 4.55 FIP
22.4 K% / 11.9 BB% / 3.0% HR rate
The arsenal:
Slider (90.4 mph, 31% usage)
Sweeper (88.0 mph, 22% usage)
Four-seam fastball (94.8 mph, 21% usage)
Changeup (88.5 mph, 14% usage)
Sinker (94.2 mph, 12% usage)
How he attacks hitters:
vs LHH: full mix early, breaking balls late
31% slider, 26% four-seamer, 21% changeup, 18% sweeper, 4% sinker
vs RHH: here’s a breaking ball, try and hit it
31% slider, 26% sweeper, 21% sinker, 15% four-seamer, 7% changeup
Sequencing:
How to read a plinko chart: Each circle represents the usage of a pitcher’s arsenal in a given count (color key below). The thickness of the connecting lines reflects how often each count occurs, helping show how a pitcher navigates an at-bat.
What This Means for the Braves
Max Meyer’s raw stuff isn’t that impressive - an aggregate 95 Stuff+ on FanGraphs and with only one pitch (sinker, 104) coming in as above-average - but he can locate it well.
Miami’s dugout calls the pitches, not the battery, and so he’s not that predictable as far as sequences. You’ve got to get him off his spots, either by hitting pitches in a certain location to take it away from him (the up and in four-seamer, for instance) or not chase and force him to bring his stuff into the zone for strikes.
Austin Riley is 3-7 with a homer off of Meyer, while Matt Olson only has one hit in nine at-bats…but that one hit is a homer.
Braves Bullpen Status
Likely available:
The best two leverage arms still haven’t pitched since Tuesday, so long that they’ve fallen off of the five-day chart. Beginning to feel like Raisel Iglesias and Robert Suarez might never pitch again.
Used recently:
Aaron Bummer and José Suarez, both of who pitched last night, are likely down for the day.
Potential limitations:
Osvaldo Bido might need one more day after 50 pitches on Saturday and 64 in the last four days.
Quick takeaway:
Let’s hope it’s close and we can use the two leverage guys, before they forget how to pitch.
Opponent Bullpen Status
Likely available:
Closer Pete Fairbanks, who returned from his own paternity leave right before the weekend, hasn’t pitched since returning and has also fallen off the chart, just as Raisel Iglesias and Robert Suarez did for Atlanta.
Used recently:
The chart’s always going to be a bit ugly after five different bullpen arms get into the same game, and Miami’s certainly is.
Potential limitations:
That said, likely the only reliever from last night that can’t come back today is Lake Bachar. Everyone else is likely on the table, although I’m sure there are decision trees and rules on when some of them can get used.
Quick takeaway:
Miami needs length from Meyer and that’s, uh, not really his thing. He has yet to get past the fifth inning in any of his three starts this year and hasn’t even thrown a pitch in the sixth inning since May of last year.
What to Watch Today
No Marlins hitter has ever seen Reynaldo López, and they don’t even have the benefit of a Trajekt machine on the road to help prepare.
The Braves haven’t done well with ‘kitchen sink’ guys that are well sequenced/optimized. Can Atlanta figure out what to do against Max Meyer?
Final Thought
Braves should have the pitching advantage in this one in the micro sense - if there’s a runner on third and two outs, who do I trust more to get a single out? That’s López. At the same time, we saw both teams’ pitching fall apart last night and Atlanta’s bats couldn’t keep up with Miami’s. Atlanta needs a complete win to take this one.