Atlanta Braves Announce Sudden Matt Olson Change Before Phillies Series

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 26: Matt Olson #28 of the Atlanta Braves rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Truist Park on August 26, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

The Atlanta Braves are beginning a massive four-game series on Friday night against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Both teams sit atop the NL East standings, with the Phillies currently 4.0 games back of Atlanta for the division lead. That would also carry a guaranteed spot as a top-three seed in the NL.

Ahead of Friday’s matchup, which will feature both teams’ left-handed aces in Chris Sale for Atlanta and Cristopher Sanchez for the Phillies, Braves manager Walt Weiss made a few notable changes to his starting lineup.

Braves Announce Matt Olson Change

Atlanta’s best hitter this season has been, without question, first baseman Matt Olson. He’s spent the majority of his time in the No. 3 hole, usually behind Ronald Acuna Jr. and Drake Baldwin.

On Friday, Weiss decided to move him to the cleanup spot and instead move second baseman Ozzie Albies into the three hole.

This season, Olson has hit in the No. 4 spot just 23 times. His other 115 appearances have come in the No. 3 spot.

Here’s the full Braves lineup:

Via Underdog MLB: “Braves 9/4 R. Acuña Jr. RF D. Baldwin DH O. Albies 2B M. Olson 1B L. Thomas LF M. Dubón CF S. Murphy C A. Riley 3B H. Kim SS C. Sale SP.”

Braves 9/4

R. Acuña Jr. RF
D. Baldwin DH
O. Albies 2B
M. Olson 1B
L. Thomas LF
M. Dubón CF
S. Murphy C
A. Riley 3B
H. Kim SS

C. Sale SP

— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) September 4, 2026

Olson’s 2026 Season

In his 11th MLB season and fifth with the Braves, Olson is putting together one of the best years of his career.

He’s currently batting .254 across 140 games and 544 at-bats with 94 runs, 138 hits, 37 home runs and 80 RBIs while slugging .518 with a .847 OPS. Olson also leads the majors with 33 doubles.