The Atlanta Braves are in Milwaukee for a massive weekend series against the Brewers beginning Friday night.
Atlanta has been in a recent skid, losing five of its last seven games, but remains the No. 3 seed in the National League playoff picture.
Ahead of Friday’s matchup at 4:10 p.m. ET, which will feature a star-studded pitching matchup between lefty Cy Young candidates Chris Sale and Jack Misiorowski, Braves manager Walt Weiss made a few tweaks to his lineup from Thursday’s win over the Chicago White Sox.
Braves Announce Drake Baldwin Change
All-Star catcher Drake Baldwin will remain in the two hole for Friday’s game, despite usually rotating with Ronald Acuña Jr. for the leadoff spot.
However, after serving as the designated hitter Thursday, Baldwin will move back behind the plate and get the start at catcher, while Sean Murphy gets the day off.
Here’s the full Braves lineup:
Braves 8/21
R. Acuña Jr. RF
D. Baldwin C
M. Olson 1B
M. Harris II CF
O. Albies 2B
M. Dubón SS
D. Smith DH
A. Riley 3B
M. Yastrzemski LFC. Sale SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) August 21, 2026
Baldwin’s 2026 Season
It’s been another impressive year for the second-year MLB star.
After bursting onto the scene as a rookie last season, Baldwin has built off his 2025 campaign and carried that success into 2026.
He enters Friday currently batting .272 across 412 at bats and 105 games recording 68 runs, 112 hits, 21 home runs, and 63 RBIs, while slugging .449 with a .803 OPS.
Braves Right Now
Atlanta is 75-53 overall, which has them holding onto a 5.0 game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East, while trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers and Brewers in the NL postseason race.
The top two seed gets a first round bye, so if the Braves cannot climb into one of those two spots, they’ll be set to host a best of three series in Atlanta as it stands against San Diego Padres if the season ended today.
Atlanta Braves Announce Drake Baldwin Change Before Brewers Series