Braves bench Brian McCann for wild-card game

Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez has decided to bench catcher Brian McCann in favor of backup David Ross against the Cardinals on Friday.

By Dayn Perry

Oct 4, 2012 at 3:06 pm ET • 1 min read

Guess who won't be in the Atlanta lineup on Friday. (US Presswire)

The Cardinals and Braves have each announced their lineups for Friday's NL wild-card game. The big news? Atlanta skipper Fredi Gonzalez is benching regular catcher Brian McCann in favor of backup David Ross.

The 35-year-old Ross has had a quality season (.256/.321/.449 in 196 plate appearances), and his 2012 numbers are right in line with career norms. McCann has struggled by his own lofty standards this season (.230/.300/.399 in 121 games). But by going with Ross, Gonzalez is ceding the platoon advantage to St. Louis starter Kyle Lohse. It's also worth noting McCann has caught 92 2/3 of starter Kris Medlen's 138 innings this season.

In any event, here's the full lineup for the visiting Cardinals: 1 - Jon Jay CF, 2 - Carlos Beltran RF, 3 - Matt Holliday LF, 4 - Allen Craig 1b, 5 - Yadier Molina C, 6 - David Freese 3B, 7 - Daniel Descalso 2B, 8 - Pete Kozma SS, 9 - Lohse P

And here's what the Braves will trot out: 1 - Michael Bourn CF, 2 - Martin Prado LF, 3 - Jason Heyward RF, 4 - Chipper Jones 3B, 5 - Freddie Freeman 1B, 6 - Dan Uggla 2B, 7 - David Ross C, 8 - Andrelton Simmons SS, 9 - Medlen P.

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