Bobby Cox has surprised some of us and started Matt Diaz against Tim Lincecum and the Giants tonight. Diaz, a noted lefty masher, has had little to no success against right-handed pitching throughout his career. He has a career .710 OPS against righties and this season his OPS sits at .633. This is a questionable decision to say the least, but Diaz is an odd player so he may be able to perform in the playoffs. Four of the top five hitters for the Braves are batting at least .364 against Lincecum for their careers, although most have done so in a limited amount of plate appearances.
Braves Lineup:
1. Omar Infante, 3B
2. Jason Heyward, RF
3. Derek Lee, 1B
4. Brian McCann, C
5. Alex Gonzalez, SS
6. Matt Diaz, LF
7. Brooks Conrad, 2B
8. Rick Ankiel, CF
9. Derek Lowe, P