D'Arnaud is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs.
He started the first two contest of the series, but with Thursday's finale being a day game, d'Arnaud will get a breather. Atlanta will go with Chadwick Tromp as its catcher for starting pitcher AJ Smith-Shawver.
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Braves' Zack Short: Retreats to bench Thursday
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Short is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs.
Austin Riley (side) remains out of the lineup for a 10th consecutive game, but after starting each of the previous nine games in Riley's stead, Short will give way to Luke Williams at third base Thursday. Atlanta is still seemingly viewing Riley as day-to-day, so Short's run of regular playing time at the hot corner could come to an end as soon as this weekend in Pittsburgh.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Missing another start
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Riley (side) is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs.
He'll remain on the bench for a 10th consecutive game while he continues to heal up from a left intercostal strain. Atlanta had initially viewed Riley as day-to-day when he departed an April 12 game against the Mets with the injury, but the club likely would have placed him on the 10-day injured list had they known the issue would have kept him out for more than a week. Riley was able to exhibit a sign of progress by taking swings on the field Tuesday, but it's not clear if he'll be on track to rejoin the starting nine during this weekend's three-game series in Pittsburgh.
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Braves' Daysbel Hernandez: Sent down to Triple-A
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Atlanta optioned Hernandez to Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.
Atlanta opted to keep Hernandez around for a bit after he was initially called up from Gwinnett to serve as the 27th man for Monday's doubleheader against the Padres, but he'll now head back to the minors to make room for Thursday's starter, AJ Smith-Shawver, who was called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move. Hernandez has allowed one unearned run over two relief innings with the big club this season.
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Braves' AJ Smith-Shawver: Recalled ahead of Thursday's start
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Atlanta recalled Smith-Shawver from Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.
Manager Brian Snitker previously confirmed after Wednesday's 9-2 win that Smith-Shawver would start Thursday's game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The young right-hander holds a 6.10 ERA and 1.52 WHIP this season with Gwinnett and has posted a 7.43 ERA and allowed six home runs over his last three starts. Given those results, fantasy managers would be wise to take a wait-and-see approach with Smith-Shawver, but the 21-year-old should have an opportunity to make additional starts for Atlanta if he pitches well Thursday.
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Braves' Matt Olson: Goes deep in win
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Olson went 2-for-5 in Wednesday's win over the Cubs with a solo home run.
Olson launched a two-out, solo homer in the top of the seventh to extend Atlanta's lead to seven runs, giving the first baseman his fourth long ball this month and seventh overall on the season. The veteran first baseman also added a single on the night, marking his ninth multi-hit performance of the campaign and fifth in his last nine games. He's now hit safely in eight of his last 10 contests, tallying three homers and eight RBI over that stretch.
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Braves' Adam Duvall: Smacks third homer
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Duvall went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and two runs scored in Wednesday's win over the Cubs while also being hit by a pitch.
Duvall jumped on a four-seamer from Justin Steele in the top of the third and crushed it 423 feet into the stands in center field to give Atlanta an early 2-0 lead. The outfielder would then come around to score for a second time on a sac fly in the seventh after being hit by a pitch, marking only the second time this season in which he's scored multiple runs in a game. The home run was Duvall's third of the campaign and first since April 23 against the Marlins, while the two RBI were also his first in the month of May.
Braves' Max Fried: Earns win in second complete game
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Fried (4-2) earned the win over the Cubs on Wednesday, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits in a complete game. He struck out nine.
Fried dominated the Cubs' lineup in his second complete game of the season, retiring the first 15 batters he faced before surrendering a leadoff double to Ian Happ to open the bottom of the sixth. The lefty produced 18 whiffs in the contest and finished with a season-high nine strikeouts, while also not issuing any walks for first time in his last five starts. He's now gone at least seven innings in three of his last four outings, posting a 23:9 K:BB over that stretch.
Smith-Shawver will be recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to start Thursday's game against the Cubs, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Smith-Shawver will be making his first big-league start of 2024 on Thursday after logging a 6.10 ERA and 1.52 WHIP through 31 innings across eight starts in Triple-A. He appeared in six games for Atlanta last season with mixed results, though he could find some success against a Cubs offense that ranks 10th in the National League with a .683 OPS.
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Braves' Zack Short: Filling in for injured Riley
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Short will start at third base and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Cubs.
Short will draw a ninth consecutive start at the hot corner while Austin Riley (side) remains day-to-day. The 28-year-old has delivered a solid .345 on-base percentage over his prior eight starts, but he's provided little fantasy value with a .208 average, zero home runs or stolen bases and two RBI and runs during that stretch. He'll fall back into a light role once Riley is cleared to return to the lineup.
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Braves' Jarred Kelenic: Sitting against southpaw
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Kelenic is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.
The left-handed-hitting Kelenic will take a seat Wednesday while southpaw Justin Steele takes the hill for Chicago. Platoon mate Adam Duvall will fill in for Kelenic in left field.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Sitting again Wednesday
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Riley (side) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.
Though Riley took a step forward in his recovery from a left side strain by taking swings Tuesday, he'll remain on the bench for the ninth game in a row Wednesday. Provided he didn't experience any setbacks from Tuesday's activity and is continuing to show daily improvement, Riley still looks like he'll avoid the injured list, and his return to the lineup could happen any day.
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Braves' Jackson Stephens: Back with Atlanta
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Atlanta re-signed Stephens to a minor-league contract Monday.
For the second time since the start of April, Stephens rejoined Atlanta after declining an outright assignment and electing free agency. The right-handed reliever has thrown 3.1 innings in the big leagues in 2024, allowing one run. He's been assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett.
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Braves' Sean Murphy: Homers in first rehab game
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Murphy (oblique) played seven innings at catcher and went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run Tuesday in his first rehab game for Triple-A Gwinnett.
In his first game since suffering a Grade 1 left oblique strain in his season debut with Atlanta on March 29, Murphy had been scheduled to catch just four innings, but he ended up staying behind the dish longer than expected. The 29-year-old backstop didn't exhibit any rust with the bat or in the field Tuesday, as he threw out the only baserunner that attempt to steal off of him and provided the highlight of the night with a 449-foot blast off the batter's eye in center field in his first at-bat. According to David O'Brien of The Athletic, Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said that Murphy will be off Wednesday before starting behind the plate again for Gwinnett on Thursday. Snitker added that Murphy is also expected to get another start for Gwinnett as a designated hitter, so Atlanta is seemingly planning on having Murphy remain on assignment through at least Friday before bringing him back from the 10-day injured list.
Acuna went 0-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base in Tuesday's 4-3 extra-inning loss to the Cubs.
The steal was Acuna's first since May 4, an unusually long drought without a theft for the speedy outfielder. He was caught on his only attempt over 12 games between steals. Acuna has struggled to get into a rhythm at the plate this season, slashing .247/.355/.351 with three home runs, 12 RBI, 36 runs scored and 15 steals over 203 plate appearances. Some regression from last year's 41-homer, 73-steal campaign was to be expected in 2024, but Acuna's career-low .706 OPS so far has been a brutal overcorrection.
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Braves' Michael Harris: Homer, steal in extra-inning loss
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Harris went 1-for-5 with a solo home run and a stolen base in Tuesday's 4-3 extra-inning loss to the Cubs.
Harris started May in a dreadful 0-for-26 slump, but he's snapped out of it by going 10-for-39 (.256) with two homers, two steals, four RBI and three runs scored over his last 10 contests. The outfielder is slashing .250/.289/.378 with five homers, seven steals, 17 RBI and 19 runs scored through 45 games this season. Harris hit over .290 and flirted with 20-20 years in each of his first two big-league campaigns, so there's still another level he can get back to as he rebounds from his slump.
