Atlanta Braves Announce Drake Baldwin Change Before Yankees Series

The Atlanta Braves are carrying an eight-game winning streak into their series opener Friday night against the New York Yankees.

Tyler Mahle, who Atlanta acquired earlier this week, will take the mound for the Braves, while Max Fried will start for New York in his first matchup against his former team since leaving after spending his first eight seasons with the organization.

Ahead of the matchup, Braves manager Walt Weiss announced a notable lineup change involving All-Star catcher Drake Baldwin.

Braves Announce Baldwin Change

After Baldwin batted leadoff throughout the entire series against the Miami Marlins, Weiss moved him back one spot in the order, placing him in the No. 2 hole while returning outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. to the leadoff role.

Baldwin will also serve as the designated hitter after starting at catcher Thursday night. Sean Murphy will handle catching duties after recently returning from the injured list.

Here’s the Braves’ full lineup:

Braves 8/7

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

T. Mahle SP

— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) August 7, 2026

Baldwin’s 2026 Season

After a strong rookie campaign last season in which he recorded 111 hits, 19 home runs, and 80 RBIs, Baldwin has taken another step forward during his sophomore season with more than 45 games remaining.

He’s currently batting .271 with 62 runs, 97 hits, 20 home runs, and 59 RBIs while slugging .458 and posting a .819 OPS across 92 games and 358 at-bats.

Braves Right Now

Atlanta is currently one of the best teams in baseball, sitting at 70-45 entering Friday night’s contest.

The Braves sit atop the NL East with an 8.5-game lead over the second-place Philadelphia Phillies and have moved ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the No. 2 seed in the National League playoff picture if the season ended today.

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