Atlanta

Braves

Riley put the Braves on the board with a two-run homer off Dean Kremer in the first inning, then doubled in a run in the fourth to post his fourth multi-hit game in his last seven contests. The 28-year-old third baseman is up to 13 homers while hitting g.275/.325/.436 with 47 runs scored and 45 RBI across 388 plate appearances.

Olson continues to tear it up at the plate after hitting .313 in June. He doubled and scored in the first inning, then slugged a solo homer to lead off the third. A base hit drove in a run in the fourth before drawing a pair of walks. The 31-year-old slugger is slashing .271/.372/.495 with 17 homers, 49 runs scored, and 58 RBI across 387 plate appearances.

Bummer drew the start for the Braves on Saturday in a bullpen game and tossed two scoreless inning with five strikeouts before the Orioles got to him in the third. Tyler O’Neill took him deep for a solo homer, followed by a two-run shot by Jordan Westburg that would end the day for Bummer. Dylan Dodd came in to relieve him and gave up two runs over 2 2/3.

Verdugo is now a free agent after passing through waivers unclaimed. The 29-year-old outfielder was designated for assignment earlier this week by Atlanta after hitting .239/.296/.289 with zero homers over 56 games with the club. He’ll likely have to settle for a minor league contract if he’s going to latch on elsewhere.

Ozuna, who has been playing through a hip tear throughout most of this season, has been mired in an extended tailspin at the dish, hitting .177 (20-for-113) with only two homers in his last 30 games. He’s been dropped to the lower portion of Atlanta’s lineup for the second straight game with Jurickson Profar getting looks in the cleanup spot.

The home run was No. 10 for Baldwin on the year. The 24-year-old catcher hit a two-run home run off Charlie Morton in the sixth inning. Baldwin continues to play behind Sean Murphy despite the rookie out-pacing the incumbent in OPS. Baldwin is in a precarious position, though, with Murphy signed through the 2028 season. Perhaps he’ll need a change of scenery to receive more regular playing time. Baldwin is hitting .274 with an .824 OPS and 28 RBI on the season.

Strider gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out six. The 26-year-old right-hander has had a quality start in five of his last six games. Strider has won just three of his 10 starts this year, though. The wins should come as the results have mostly been good for Strider lately. He has 39 strikeouts in 30 innings over his last five starts. Strider has a 63/21 K/BB ratio and 3.93 ERA in 55 innings. He’ll face the Cardinals on the road next weekend.

Fresh off of his 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, Profar swatted a solo shot in Wednesday’s victory over the Halos. He then broke up the Angels’ bid for a shutout with a 417-foot (102.4 mph EV) blast off of Brock Burke in the ninth inning on Thursday. The 32-year-old outfielder finished the evening 1-for-4 and is now hitting .261/.292/.522 with two homers and two RBI in his first 24 plate appearances on the season.

The 26-year-old right-hander struck out five batters on the evening, though he also issued three free passes. Elder struggled to keep the ball in the yard as Nolan Schanuel tagged him for a two-run shot in the second inning and Zach Neto added a solo blast in the fourth. He got 13 swings and misses on 101 pitches on the evening, posting a CSW of 28 percent. He’ll look to bounce back as he carries an unimpressive 5.92 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and a 62/27 K/BB ratio (73 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Athletics in West Sacramento.

The Braves had a furious, two-out rally which led them to victory here and Olson put the exclamation point on it with his grand slam. After singles by Jurickson Profar and Ozzie Albies knocked Yusei Kikuchi out of this game with two outs in the sixth inning, Sean Murphy launched a three-run home run to give Atlanta their first lead. Then, Angels’ reliever Ryan Zeferjahn allowed a single to Michael Harris II and walked both ninth hitter Nick Allen and Ronald Acuña Jr. which set Olson up for his grand slam. It was his first RBI in over a week and first home run in two weeks as he and his Braves try to shake loose from the malaise that’s overcome their season.