Yankees do Chris Sale a favor with gross lineup in series opener vs. Braves

The New York Yankees are a team in need of a bounce back. They've lost two straight series after dropping two of three against the Baltimore Orioles, and things don't get easier with the Atlanta Braves coming to town.

Atlanta's offense hasn't been nearly as dominant as we've become accustomed to, but their pitching, particularly their starting pitching, has been outstanding. That's the main reason that despite their inconsistent offense, Atlanta enters the series with a 41-31 record.

Chris Sale, a pitcher that the Yankees are awfully familiar with, will get the ball on Friday against the Bronx Bombers. The lineup he's set to face is unrecognizable, to say the least.

Yankees set to face Chris Sale with grossly unrecognizable lineup

You had us with the top four. The top four of Anthony Volpe, Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton is among the best in the majors. The rest, however, is tough to look at.

Jahmai Jones, a player with 20 plate appearances this season and 110 plate appearances in parts of four MLB seasons, is hitting fifth against Chris Sale. Jones, a player with a .498 OPS in 110 plate appearances, is hitting fifth against Chris Sale. Yikes. Jones is playing with Alex Verdugo being given the game off. It continues to get worse.

DJ LeMahieu was once an MVP candidate, but he is hitting .200 in his 70 plate appearances this season. What sticks out most about LeMahieu is that all 12 of his hits have been singles. He does not have a single extra-base hit this season, yet he's hitting sixth against an All-Star.

Light-hitting catcher Jose Trevino bats seventh. Ben Rice, a left-handed hitter will have the impossible task of figuring out the funky left-handed arm action of Sale while hitting eighth. And Oswaldo Cabrera, a switch-hitter who struggles as a right-handed batter, will round out the order.

The Yankees might score runs generated by the top of their order but if those batters don't get anything going, we might see vintage Sale tonight. The southpaw is entering his start with a sub-3.00 ERA, and it wouldn't be surprising at all to see it get even lower.