Atlanta catcher Drake Baldwin will try to continue building his case for National League Rookie of the Year on Friday when the Braves host the Miami Marlins in the second game of a five-game series.
Baldwin had two homers and five RBIs on Thursday as the Braves erased a four-run deficit to beat the Marlins 8-6 and tie the season series at 3-3.
“He reminds me of (former Atlanta catcher) Brian McCann a lot,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Mac came up and was above his years in age behind the plate and as an offensive player, and Drake is right there with him.”
Baldwin, 24, is batting .287 with 13 homers and 46 RBIs. He is alternating games between designated hitter and catching, sharing backstop duties with veteran Sean Murphy.
Snitker said about Baldwin’s Rookie of the Year prospects, “He’s right there in all the categories, and at the end of the year, if he keeps going like this, it wouldn’t surprise me a bit.”
One of Baldwin’s biggest challengers for the honor is in the opposing dugout this weekend. Marlins catcher Agustin Ramirez, 23, is hitting .242 with 17 home runs and 52 RBIs.
The pitching matchup for the Friday game features a pair of right-handers — Atlanta’s Bryce Elder (4-8, 6.03 ERA) and Miami’s Edward Cabrera (5-5, 3.24).
Cabrera has gone 5-4 with a 2.32 ERA over 15 starts since the beginning of May. He has 83 strikeouts and 23 walks in 81 1/3 innings while limiting the opposition to a .213 batting average during that span.
In his most recent outing, Cabrera pitched six innings against the New York Yankees on Sunday and allowed only one run on two hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out seven.
“We expect that now, and so does Cabby when he goes out there,” Miami manager Clayton McCullough said. “He has so many weapons he trusts in.”
Cabrera is 1-1 with a 3.50 ERA in four career starts against Atlanta. He beat the Braves when he last faced them on Aug. 4, 2024, as he fired five scoreless innings and fanned eight in a 7-0 Miami win.
Elder bounced back from a horrendous start on July 27, when he allowed eight runs in 2 2/3 innings at Texas, to throw 6 2/3 innings and permit just two runs at Cincinnati on Aug. 1. Elder was more effective at getting ahead in the count and pitched well against the Reds despite taking a loss.
“I think I threw more strikes,” Elder said. “Throwing more strikes, kind of make them make decisions and made them swing early. I kind of just accepted if I’m going to get beat, I’m going to get beat with this. I’m not going to back myself in a corner again and then get beat with one hit. They were going to have to string some together.”
In nine career starts against the Marlins, Elder is 2-3 with a 3.46 ERA. He took a loss against Miami on June 22 when he gave up five runs on a season-high 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings.
Atlanta could be getting two of its star players back very soon.
Left-hander Chris Sale threw a 30-pitch simulated game on Thursday and reported no issues. He is expected to make at least one rehab start before returning to the active list.
Right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. took batting practice on Thursday and appeared to be recovering well from the strained right calf that forced him onto the injured list last week.
–Field Level Media
