The Braves are sticking with a familiar-looking order for the middle game against the Pirates, but there is one notable change behind the plate. Drake Baldwin is at designated hitter, while Joey Bart gets the start at catcher as Atlanta tries a different battery setup for Grant Holmes.
It will be the first time Holmes has worked with Bart since Bart joined the club. In Holmes’ previous three starts, Baldwin had been the one handling the catching duties. Now the Braves will see how Bart fits with the right-hander, both in terms of game-calling and what he can provide at the plate.
Bart’s offense since arriving in Atlanta has been modest at best. He’s hitting .136/.269/.318 with a .273 wOBA and a 68 wRC+ since joining the Braves. That isn’t much production, though it has still been better than what the team had been getting from its previous catchers.
Baldwin, meanwhile, has started to look more like himself again since the calendar flipped from June to July. Atlanta will hope that continues at DH, especially with the rest of the lineup also showing signs of life after a month of struggling as a group.
Michael Harris II remains in the leadoff spot, and Austin Riley is still near the bottom of the order. The top of the lineup looks threatening enough, while the Braves are banking on better results from the middle and lower third.
The Pirates’ lineup has not yet been released. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET at PNC Park.
In Other News...
Braves Quietly Got Back A Bullpen Arm They May Desperately Need
For most of the season, Atlantas bullpen has looked like one of the clubs quiet advantages, but the last stretch has brought a little more unease. Raisel Iglesias has blown a save, Dylan Lee has had shaky outings and Didier Fuentes is nearing the break, which has made the relief picture feel less settled than it did a few weeks ago.
Into that mix comes Danny Young, the left-hander the Braves have quietly gotten back after his injury layoff. His early work this season has been encouraging enough to give Atlanta another option for mid-to-high-leverage spots against left-handed hitters, and perhaps a way to ease the load on some of the other arms that have been asked to carry more lately. The bigger question is how quickly the Braves lean into that role, and whether Young can turn a useful return into something more than just a temporary fix. [Read more 🡒]
Walt Weiss Decisions Just Cost The Braves A Game They Had Won
The Braves had enough offense to put themselves in position to win, but the game slipped into the kind of extra-inning mess that usually leaves a manager under the microscope. Atlanta scored six runs and still could not finish off the Mets, with the lineups missed chances and a thin bench leaving the club in a difficult spot once the game stretched beyond regulation.
Walt Weiss choices only made the margin for error smaller. The Braves were already navigating a less-than-ideal setup in extras, and the way the bullpen and lineup were handled became a major part of why a game that looked won turned into a loss, even before the final inning had fully played out. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Cant Afford Another Quiet Deadline From Alex Anthopoulos
With the trade deadline approaching, the Braves look like a club that cannot simply sit back and hope the rotation and outfield sort themselves out. ESPNs latest best-fit rundown had Atlanta attached to 17 of the top 25 deadline candidates, which is a pretty clear sign that the market sees a team with real needs and a front office that should be active. Starting pitching remains the obvious priority, and the list of names floating around ranges from Tarik Skubal and Joe Ryan to Sonny Gray, Reid Detmers, Casey Mize, Jose Soriano and Freddy Peralta.
The outfield search is a little murkier, with Taylor Ward looking like the most realistic target if Atlanta wants to add a bat without emptying the system. Shortstop is another area worth watching, but the price tag on the top names would be steep enough to make any deal complicated fast. For Alex Anthopoulos, the pressure is less about making a splash than avoiding another deadline that leaves the roster looking almost exactly the same when the dust settles. [Read more 🡒]