The Brewers and Braves will meet Sunday night in one of MLB’s most distinctive regular-season stops, with the Little League Classic bringing big-league baseball to Williamsport, Pa.
The game is set for 7:00 p.m. ET at Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field, the annual showcase played in the same town that hosts the Little League World Series.
Since 2017, with the lone exception of the COVID-disrupted 2020 season, MLB has staged a regular-season game there during the tournament, and the crowd is usually made up largely of Little League World Series players and their families. For Milwaukee and Atlanta, it will be their first time taking part in the event.
This year’s game also carries a tribute to Hank Aaron, who suited up for both franchises during his Hall of Fame career. The league will honor Aaron and his “Keep Swinging” mantra, a message that fits the setting perfectly.
There’s real baseball urgency attached to the showcase, too. Milwaukee enters with the best record in the sport and is trying to stay ahead of the Dodgers while protecting home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
The Brewers are also keeping an eye on the Cubs in the NL Central. Atlanta, meanwhile, is trying to close ground on the Phillies in the NL East after dropping five of its last six.
Milwaukee is going for the sweep, and the Braves are in search of a much-needed response.
Tyler Mahle will start for Atlanta, while Shane Drohan gets the ball for Milwaukee. Mahle is 4-10 with a 4.53 ERA, and Drohan is 6-4 with a 3.86 ERA.
The game will air on ESPN and can also be streamed on fubo. Caesars Sportsbook lists both teams at -110, with the over/under set at 7.5.
In Other News...
Former Braves Outfielder Is Already Making Atlantas Deadline Trade Sting
The Braves did not get much back in the moment when they sent Eli White to Boston before the trade deadline, but the move is looking a little sharper on the other side already. White has slipped into a useful role with the Red Sox, and in a recent comeback win over the Giants, he helped tilt the game by driving in a run and later scoring the winning run in the ninth inning.
For Atlanta, that kind of quick impact is exactly why deadline deals can linger. White has fit as a depth piece in limited action, showing he can handle left-handed pitching and bring value on the bases and in the field, which is the sort of low-profile production teams often miss once a player is gone. [Read more 🡒]
Braves First Round Pick Is Already Changing The Draft Debate
Carter Beck was the sort of first-round pick that invites instant second-guessing, especially when a club takes him 26th overall and the conversation starts before hes even settled into pro ball. Atlanta did the opposite of sitting still with him, moving him through Low-A Augusta and High-A Rome early in his first taste of the minors, and the early returns have been hard to ignore. In 15 games, Beck has hit .367/.424/.467 and already flashed the kind of bat-to-ball ability that can quiet a draft room in a hurry.
The bigger question now is less about whether Beck can hit and more about where the rest of his game goes from here. Scouts like the aggression he brings to the plate and the speed he can add on the bases, while also seeing room for growth in outfield defense and in the kind of power that tends to separate a promising prospect from a true middle-order threat. For a Braves system that leaned into upside on draft day, Beck is already making the argument that the original debate may have been the wrong one. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Top Prospect Found Perspective During A Night He Desperately Needed
The Columbus Clingstones turned one of their regular-season nights into something bigger with their annual CURE Childhood Cancer Night against Montgomery, pairing players and coaches with local pediatric cancer patients. For Braves top prospect Eric Hartman, the evening ended up carrying a different kind of weight too, because he found himself right in the middle of a memorable performance at the plate while also taking in the human side of the night around him.
Hartman launched his first Double-A home run and finished with three hits, a needed breakthrough for a player whose attention was split between baseball and perspective. He also spent time meeting the pediatric cancer patients and reflected on how much the experience meant to him, leaving the night as much about gratitude as production. [Read more 🡒]