Who’s ready for the All-Star break?
The Braves dropped last night’s finale against the Athletics in 11 innings, falling back to 12 games under .500. They sure could use a breather.
Fans have earned one, too.
THE SERIES AHEAD
Three with the Redbirds in St. Louis and then we’re home free.
📺 How to watch: Tonight’s opener starts at 8:15 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday’s games both at 2:15 p.m. All on FanDuel Sports.
⚾ The pitching matchups: In chronological order ...
- Grant Holmes (4-8, 3.44) vs. Matthew Liberatore (6-6, 3.70)
- TBA vs. Erick Fedde (3-9, 4.79)
- TBA vs. Sonny Gray (9-3, 3.51)
Expect updates soon, but those TBAs aren’t typos. That’s the world the Braves rotation lives in these days.
📝 The scouting report: The Cardinals are 50-44 and one game back of the National League’s final wild card spot. They just finished a series win over the Nationals, but have otherwise dropped six of their last nine games.
ALL-STAR ACTIVITIES
Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC
Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC
Ronald Acuña Jr. confirmed he still plans to participate in Monday’s Home Run Derby at Truist Park, which now has a complete field of eight.
There’s a whole lot going on around town before that, though. Let’s take a quick look at what’s cooking, All-Star wise.
⭐ Tonight: The HBCU Swingman Classic gets underway at 7 p.m. at Truist Park. You can watch on MLB Network, too.
The game features the top baseball players from historically Black colleges and universities around the country squaring off in their own version of an All-Star Game.
- Former Braves Dave Justice and Brian Jordan will manage. Players with local roots include Southern University shortstop KJ White (a Westlake High grad) and Morehouse College infielder Elijah Pinckney.
⭐ Saturday: The All-Star Village opens at Cobb Galleria Centre. I got a sneak peek yesterday and it looks like a lot of fun.
Roughly 500,000 square feet of interactive experiences, stuff for the kids and museum-type exhibits — plus a steady stream of photo ops, autograph signings and panel discussions with former players.
- The All-Star Futures game, which will include two of the Braves’ top pitching prospects, starts at 4 p.m. at Truist. You can watch on MLB Network.
- The celebrity softball game follows at roughly 8:30 p.m. Unless you have a ticket, you’ll have to watch managers Javy Lopez and Jermaine Dupri lead their squads via MLB.TV or MLB.com.
⭐ Sunday: The MLB draft starts at 6 p.m., live from the Coca-Cola Roxy at The Battery Atlanta. It’ll also air on MLB Network and ESPN.
The Braves have pick No. 22 in the first round and, if history tells us anything, they’ll probably take a pitcher. But that farm system sure could use some top-notch position players.
- Also keep an eye out for Daniel Pierce, an 18-year-old shortstop (and likely first-rounder) from Gwinnett’s Mill Creek High School.
We’ve got a ton of reporters on duty this weekend and beyond, so stay tuned the ajc.com/sports for all the latest.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC
Credit: Abbey Cutrer/AJC
Apologies for inflicting my big fat face upon you twice in one newsletter ... but they let me try on the Home Run Derby chain during the aforementioned tour of the All-Star Village.
BASEBALL FLICK FEEDBACK
OK, I can’t end without addressing y’all’s delightful responses to my list of the top five baseball movies of all-time.
The most commonly suggested movies that I didn’t include:
- “The Natural.” (Love it.)
- “Bang the Drum Slowly.” (Never seen it. Seems sad but I’m game.)
- and “For the Love of the Game” (Kevin Costner lives for baseball movies.)
I’ll also admit that, while Disney’s version of “Angels in the Outfield” was a childhood favorite, I had no idea it was a riff on a movie from the ‘50s.
Definitely gonna check that out.
Thanks for reading Braves Report. Tell a friend — and maybe give the AJC’s Sports Daily newsletter a shot, too.
Until next time.
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