Atlanta Braves at Baltimore Orioles

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
ATL	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	4	7	11	1
BAL	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	6	9	1

Grant Holmes (6-4, 3.70 ERA) gets the ball for Atlanta Friday at 7:05 PM ET, opposite Trevor Rogers (6-7, 4.28 ERA) for Baltimore. Holmes ground out a win over the Rangers last time out despite needing 74 pitches to get through 5 innings, while Rogers was arguably the better story in a no-decision against Houston, striking out 8 over 6.1 innings and allowing just 1 earned run.

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FINAL

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ML

Total

Braves(60-42)

WWLWW

7

+1.5-167+122o9.5+138

Orioles(50-53)

WLPLW

6

-1.5+163-125u9.5-135

Best BetBraves -100

Pregame

Atlanta's the better team on paper and it's not particularly close, but the market's still pricing this closer to a coin flip than the records suggest. That gap is where the value is — take the Braves at plus money and let the roster talent do the work.

Atlanta's been rolling without Ronald Acuna Jr., who's been out since June 10 with a hamstring strain, but Walt Weiss said this week he expects Acuna activated before the weekend's out — which would only deepen an already-loaded lineup. Baltimore, meanwhile, is running out a patched-together group behind the plate with both Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo shelved, and Jordan Westburg is done for the year after Tommy John surgery. None of that has stopped the Orioles from drawing real respect in this matchup.

Grant Holmes

(7-4)·3.67 ERA

Jul 19 vs Rangers

W

5.0IP

3ER

2K

2BB

74P

07/24 Lineup

Trevor Rogers

(7-7)·4.20 ERA

Jul 18 @ Astros

ND

6.1IP

1ER

8K

1BB

99P

07/24 Lineup

That's the tension at the heart of this series. Atlanta's the better team on paper by a wide margin, but Baltimore's found a way to make life difficult on visitors at Camden Yards, and neither club is playing exactly the way its record suggests right now.

The Braves have won 4 of their last 5, and it hasn't been a cakewalk — they took 3 of 4 from the Padres with a trio of one-run wins before that, then blew the doors off the Rangers in a sweep. That's a team finding ways to grind out close games and blow out the ones it's supposed to win, which is about as good a sign as there is for a contender in late July.

Atlanta Braves

(60-42)

Jul 23Wvs Padres6-5

Jul 22Wvs Padres7-6

Jul 21Lvs Padres3-8

Jul 20Wvs Padres3-2

Jul 19Wvs Rangers8-5

Baltimore Orioles

(50-53)

Jul 22W@ Red Sox5-1

Jul 22L@ Red Sox3-6

Jul 21P@ Red Sox0-0

Jul 20L@ Red Sox5-6

Jul 19W@ Astros5-2

The bullpen picture is a little shakier. Robert Suarez and Joe Jimenez are both still out, and Atlanta's rotation depth has taken real hits with Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach and AJ Smith-Shawver all on the 60-day IL. It hasn't derailed the season, but it's the one soft spot in an otherwise dominant roster.

Atlanta Braves

(10)

• 10-Day-ILRonald Acuna Jr. (RF) — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said Thursday that he expects Acuna (hamstring) to be activated from the 10-day injured list before the end of this weekend, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.07/23
• 10-Day-ILHa-Seong Kim (SS) — Atlanta announced Monday that Kim (finger) will begin a rehab assignment in the rookie-level Florida Complex League.07/13
• 15-Day-ILRobert Suarez (RP) — Suarez (elbow) played catch on the field at Truist Park on Friday, Harrison Smajovits of SI.com reports.07/17
• suspensionJurickson Profar (LF) — Profar will miss the full 2026 season after the appeal of his 162-game PED suspension was denied Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILSean Murphy (C) — Murphy (finger) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday, Harrison Smajovits of SI.com reports.07/23
• 60-Day-ILSpencer Schwellenbach (SP) — Schwellenbach (elbow) has been cleared to throw bullpen sessions, MLB.com reports.07/21
• 60-Day-ILAJ Smith-Shawver (SP) — Smith-Shawver (elbow) allowed four hits and one walk while striking out five across 4.1 scoreless innings during his rehab start Saturday with Triple-A Gwinnett.07/19
• 60-Day-ILSpencer Strider (SP) — Strider (elbow) will have a follow-up appointment with Dr. Keith Meister next week and may also be scheduled for an MRI, Chad Bishop of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.07/18
• 60-Day-ILJoe Jimenez (RP) — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss revealed Wednesday that Jimenez underwent another surgery on his left knee 3-to-4 weeks ago, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.05/13
• 60-Day-ILJoey Wentz (RP) — Atlanta placed Wentz (knee) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08

Baltimore Orioles

(10)

• 10-Day-ILSamuel Basallo (C) — The Orioles placed Basallo on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with right shoulder inflammation.07/22
• 10-Day-ILAdley Rutschman (C) — Rutschman is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Red Sox due to a left wrist injury, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.07/20
• 10-Day-ILBlaze Alexander (3B) — Alexander (hand) does not have a timeline to return from the 10-day injured list, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.07/17
• 60-Day-ILRyan Helsley (RP) — Baltimore transferred Helsley (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Sunday.07/19
• 60-Day-ILChris Bassitt (SP) — The Orioles transferred Bassitt (back) to the 60-day injured list Friday, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.07/18
• 60-Day-ILKeegan Akin (RP) — Akin (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery Wednesday, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.07/15
• 60-Day-ILFelix Bautista (RP) — Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said Saturday that Bautista (shoulder) has been "throwing really, really well" in his bullpen sessions, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.06/29
• 60-Day-ILColin Selby (RP) — Selby plans to receive a second opinion on his right shoulder before continuing his rehab program, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.06/29
• 60-Day-ILRyan Mountcastle (1B) — Mountcastle (foot) did some running Saturday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.06/13
• 60-Day-ILJordan Westburg (3B) — Westburg (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery Wednesday, Andrew Golden of TheBanner.com reports.05/15

Baltimore's answer is to lean on whoever's healthy. Sam Huff and Chadwick Tromp are holding down the catching duties, and with Blaze Alexander also out at third, the Orioles are stitching together a lineup that looks thinner than the one that was supposed to chase a wild card spot. Rogers giving them length and swing-and-miss stuff on the mound is exactly the kind of thing that keeps a series like this from getting away from them early.