Braves Rest Soler for Series Finale Versus Brewers

It's been a rough few days in Braves Country.

Losers of three straight, Atlanta finally broke their 20-plus-inning scoreless streak yesterday in the first inning only to watch Milwaukee knock out Chris Sale in the fifth and drop eight runs on sixteen hits to officially win the series. Now Atlanta's looking to avoid a sweep behind the right arm of Charlie Morton (6-6, 3.94), squaring off against trade acquisition Frankie Montas (5-8, 5.03)

Lineup for the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, August 8th

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

CF Jarred Kelenic
3B Austin Riley
DH Marcell Ozuna
1B Matt Olson
SS Orlando Arcia
C Travis d'Arnaud
RF Ramón Laureano
LF Adam Duvall
2B Whit Merrifield

It's a routine day off for Jorge Soler, coming after seven consecutive starts in right field. Manager Brian Snitker mentioned the other day that he wanted to give Soler a day off as he acclimates to playing the outfield for the first time this season, but Soler's always (successfully) lobbied to be in the lineup. In a day game after two consecutive night games, it makes sense to make the move here, similar to how the team manages its catchers.

Morton's 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA in his last five starts against the Brewers, but hasn't made one in the regular season since 2022. It'll be interesting to see what he does against the red-hot Willy Adames today; the shortstop is 1-12 against him but that one hit? It's a homer.

Here's the Brewers lineup for the finale:

2B Brice Turang
LF Jackson Chourio
CF Garrett Mitchell
DH William Contreras
SS Willy Adames
RF Sal Frelick
1B Jake Bauers
3B Joey Ortiz
C Eric Haase

Montas, acquired at the trade deadline from the Cincinnati Reds, is making his second career start against Atlanta and hoping for better results in this one: Last month, as a member of the Reds, Montas allowed four runs on ten hits in just 4.1 innings, walking three and striking out six. That game constitutes a majority of the Atlanta lineup's experience against the righthander, although Jarred Kelenic is 3-9 with a homer and 5 RBI in his career off of Montas.

How to Watch the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, August 8th

Today's series finale is scheduled for a 12:20 PM ET start. The broadcast can be found on Bally Sports, with Atlanta on Bally Sports South and Milwaukee on Bally Sports Wisconsin. The radio call for Atlanta is on 680 AM & 93.7 FM The Fan as well as Atlanta Braves Radio Network affiliates across Braves Country.