​On June 30, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia, the Braves’ shortstop Jorge Mateo (2) and second baseman Ozzie Albies (1) celebrate after Mateo scores a run in the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Truist Park. Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images. The Atlanta Braves are using this four-game series as a turning point to shake off June’s hitting woes. Let’s examine the lineup. Friday night baseball is on deck! The lineup mirrors Thursday’s quiet finale. So the question remains: what’s the aim of sticking with the same look after a disappointing finish to the previous game? If any English fans are present in today’s crowd, they might enjoy Michael Harris II’s recent offensive surge, posted at a 2.000 OPS over his last three at-bats against Mets pitcher Christian Scott. Scott, sidelined last year due to Tommy John surgery, explains why much of the Braves’ lineup lacks experience against him. While offensive output helps, it doesn’t always translate to runs, and the Braves urgently need runs to rejoin the win column and stay there consistently. The plan is straightforward: the Braves need to string together hits. Something isn’t clicking between bat and mindset, and it’s costing them games that matter late in the season. Braves beat writer Mark Bowman noted Atlanta’s offensive struggles over their past 19 games, when the club has posted a .580 OPS while dropping 14 of those 19. The last time they endured a stretch with an OPS that low before this year were in 2016 (the 93-loss season), 2014 (a second-half collapse that contributed to Frank Wren’s firing), and even earlier years like 1989. Every team hits rough patches, but now the question is what’s hindering them and how to fix it before the All-Star Break, so they can head into the second half on a positive note. First pitch is at 7:15 p.m. ET. Note: Mets’ lineup was unavailable at publication time for SEO purposes.