Braves Shuffle Ozzie Albies-Less Lineup in Houston to Take on the Astros

The Atlanta Braves are moving things around to compensate for the loss of their second baseman

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Reynaldo López takes the ball tonight against the Houston Astros / Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves piled on the runs late against the Houston Astros to win the series opener 6-1 last night, as well as potentially knock out closer Josh Hader for the rest of the series.  

Atlanta’s looking to keep the good times rolling this evening, sending impressive starter Reynaldo López to the Minute Maid Park mound for his third start of the season, facing off with struggling Houston righty Hunter Brown. They'll do it without Ozzie Albies, though, who hit the IL with a broken toe after being hit by a pitch on Monday night.

Lineups for the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros on Tuesday, April 16th

Here's how Atlanta will line up for the contest:

RF Ronald Acuña Jr
CF Michael Harris II
3B Austin Riley
1B Matt Olson
DH Marcell Ozuna
SS Orlando Arcia
LF Jarred Kelenic
2B Luis Guillorme
C Chadwick Tromp

López has been one of Atlanta’s most consistent starters on the 2024 season, going six innings in each of his first two outings and combining for one run on seven hits, walking five and striking out eleven. He’s faced most of Houston’s lineup in the past, but not very much - nobody has even double-digit appearances against López in his career. Yordan Alvarez (1-4) has the only homer against López, while Jose Alutve is 3-8 and backup catcher Victor Caratini  is 2-5 with two RBIs. 

Here's Houston’s lineup:

2B Jose Altuve
DH Yordan Alvarez
RF Kyle Tucker
3B Alex Bregman
C Yanier Diaz
SS Jeremy Peña
1B Jon Singleton
LF Chaz McCormick
CF Dane Myers

Hunter Brown is hoping to wash away his last start, coming last Thursday against Kansas City, when he allowed nine runs on eleven hits in only 2/3rds of an inning. He’s got his work cut out for him against an Atlanta offense that hit him well the only other time they’ve been matched up, April 21st of last year, when the Braves got to Brown for four runs on seven hits in just 4.2 innings. He struck out seven Braves but also walked two, hit a batter, and gave up four extra-base hits to Atlanta. 

How to Watch the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros on Tuesday, April 16th

Today's series opener is scheduled for an 8:10 PM ET first pitch with a full suite of broadcast options. In-market, the Braves broadcast is on Bally Sports Southeast and the Astros are on Space City Home Network, with out-of-market fans being able to watch on MLB.tv. For audio, the Astros broadcast is available on KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2 and TUDN 93.3/KLAT 1010, while the Atlanta Braves Radio Network has the standard broadcast on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan and affiliates across Braves Country.