Another right-handed starter on the mound means another start for Dominic Smith in the Braves lineup for Friday night’s opener of the road series against the Phillies.
Smith, who is still on a torrid start to his Braves tenure, will bat seventh and serve as the designated hitter with Philadelphia starting veteran Taijuan Walker on the hill. With five more RBIs in the Marlins series, Smith is up to 15 RBIs in as many games played early this season, batting .381 and OPSing 1.043 in 42 at-bats.
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The lineup is carrying over from the Marlins series finale, with Mike Yastrzemski back in the lineup and Mauricio Dubon once again of Michael Harris II at the bottom of the order.
Walker, who is in his sixth straight season in the NL East with the Mets (2021-22) and Phillies (2023-26), is 3-2 with a 4.63 ERA in 11 games against the Braves in his career. He faced Atlanta twice last season, allowing no runs over a combined 6 2/3 innings.
The current Braves roster is 27-for-89 (.303) against Walker with three homers, six doubles, 18 strikeouts and 14 walks. Harris actually has two of those homers off Walker and is hitting .444 against him in his career. Matt Olson is hitting just .231 against him but does have three doubles. Smith is 2-for-3 (.667) against Walker, who he was teammates with in New York for two seasons.
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With Atlanta starting a southpaw in Martín Pérez, Philadelphia is giving Brandon Marsh a rare night off, starting Otto Kemp in left field and placing him ninth in the lineup. Marsh has a team-high .290 batting average early this season and is among the team leaders with 11 RBIs this season.
Pérez, a first-time NL East pitcher this season, is 4-1 with a 3.78 ERA in 10 games against the Phillies over his career.
The current Phillies roster is 30-for-99 (.303) against Pérez with five doubles, two homers, 19 strikeouts and 13 walks. Bryson Stott, who is also not in the starting lineup, is 2-for-2 against him, while Alec Bohm is 8-of-17 (.471) with a homer and five RBIs. Trea Turner also has a homer and a .357 average against Pérez.
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