Ronald Acuña Jr. leading off in return Monday

Baldwin’s second double was hit 105 mph and would have been a homer in four ballparks. It’s his first multi-RBI game since Aug. 5 and first with multiple extra-base hits since July 19. He had hit .229/.282/.302 in his previous 24 games.

Acuña is still in a little 2-for-24 slump in his last six games, but some good news is that he’s starting to run again. He didn’t attempt a steal in his first 18 games back from his latest hamstring injury, but he’s 2-for-3 in his last eight games even while struggling to reach base. He’s stolen 17 bases in 79 games on the season.

Dropping Baldwin from the top of the order against lefties seems like the right call. Harris is sort of a surprising choice to lead off against a lefty, but he has been pretty successful against them this year, hitting .281/.319/.468. Harris has been batting cleanup against righties and fifth or sixth versus lefties.

Baldwin is hitting .244/.280/321 in August, and his season OPS fell under .800 today. The Braves could try moving him down a few spots in the order until he resumes doing a better job of getting on base. The occasional day off against a lefty wouldn’t be a bad idea, either; he’s been in the Braves lineup as a catcher or DH every game since June 24.

Baldwin’s home run was his 21st of the season. He hit a solo shot off Zebby Matthews in the sixth inning. Baldwin is 18-for-54 (.333) with one home run and six RBI over his last 13 games. He’s hitting .278 with an .820 OPS and 63 RBI on the season.

Baldwin got the scoring started with an RBI single in the bottom of the third before swiping second base to remove the double-play threat. The 25-year-old has put together a remarkably similar campaign to his rookie year, validating his strong debut. The difference this season has been playing time. Baldwin has started every game since June 26, mostly hitting in the top two lineup spots, which is rare for a catcher. He’s the most valuable backstop in dynasty formats and will come off the board as one of the top options at the position in 2027 redraft leagues.

Acuña’s home run was his 13th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Eduardo Rodriguez in the first inning. Acuña is 14-for-53 (.264) with five home runs and eight RBI in 13 games so far in August. He’s hitting .244 with a .791 OPS and 31 RBI.

Baldwin started this game with a lead-off single and the Braves didn’t put another runner on base until the fourth inning. After that, they hit one more measly single in the seventh and went the whole game without putting a runner in scoring position. Nevertheless, Baldwin has cemented himself as one of the best offensive catchers in baseball with a .274 batting average, 20 home runs, and .809 OPS.

Acuña cut into the Yankees’ lead in the eighth inning with a solo homer off Brent Headrick. It was his fifth home run in 12 games since returning from the injured list. The 28-year-old outfielder is up to 12 homers with 15 steals while hitting .247/.358/.444 across 288 plate appearances.

He’ll be out indefinitely. Edgar Quero was recalled in Bart’s absence.