Ronald Acuña Jr. is leading off in Game 2

It’s the first start of the series for Smith, who has appeared as a pinch-hitter and struck out in each of the first two games. Mike Yastrzemski will also return to the starting lineup for Game 3 after sitting in Game 2. Sean Murphy and Ha-Seong Kim will open the game on the bench for the Braves. Here’s the full lineup that the Braves will deploy in a must-win game against Phillies’ right-hander Aaron Nola: Drake Baldwin (C), Ronald Acuña Jr. (RF), Matt Olson (1B), Michael Harris II (CF), Mauricio Dubon (SS), Mike Yastrzemski (LF) Austin Riley (3B), Ozzie Albies (2B) and Dominic Smith (DH)

Despite the Phillies opting to use left-hander Jesús Luzardo as an opener, Baldwin will still be hitting leadoff for Atlanta to kick off the postseason. Mike Yastrzemski will also be in the lineup at DH, which makes sense with the Phillies turning to right-hander Andrew Painter after one or two inning from Luzardo at the outset of Game 1.

Braves’ skipper Walt Weiss is using Sunday to give several of his regulars a day off in advance of the start of the postseason, with Acuña, Drake Baldwin and Michael Harris II all sitting. Brewer Hicklen will start in Acuña’s place in right field and will bat eighth against Marlins’ right-hander Janson Junk.

Baldwin’s home run was his 25th of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Bradley Blalock in the ninth inning. Baldwin is hitting .284 with 25 home runs, 85 RBI, 79 runs scored and three stolen bases. He established himself as one of the best hitting young catchers in all of baseball this year.

Murphy broke up a no-hit bid by Eury Pérez in the top of the sixth inning when he singled on a first-pitch sinker that caught too much of the plate. It was the lone hit of the game for the Braves, who never had a runner get into scoring position in the 3-0 defeat.

Acuña left Tuesday’s game and was held out of Wednesday’s game because of a shin contusion.

Atlanta manager Walt Weiss told reporters Acuña is available off the bench, if needed, but they want to give him an extra day to recover after fouling a ball off his left shin during Tuesday’s game. It’ll be Brewer Hicklen taking over in right field in his place on Wednesday evening. The positive news here is that X-rays and a CT scan came back negative for any fractures and he should be ready for the outset of the postseason.

Acuña is officially day-to-day after preliminary X-rays came back negative for any fractures. It’s a massive relief for the postseason-bound Braves after one of their franchise cornerstones fouled a ball off his lower left leg during the third inning of Tuesday’s series opener against Cincinnati. Early indications are that Acuña managed to avoid serious injury, but he might need a couple days off to rest and recover before returning to Atlanta’s lineup.

Acuña departed immediately after fouling a ball off his lower left leg in the third inning. The positive news is that he was able to walk off the field without any assistance. He finished 0-for-1 at the dish. It looks like his exit was precautionary, but it’s obviously a concerning development for the playoff-bound Braves as they play out their final handful of regular-season contests. There should be an additional update on his status shortly.

Acuña’s home run was his 20th of the season. He hit a grand slam off Bryan Abreu in the seventh inning. Acuña has four home runs and 10 RBI over his last seven games. He’s hitting .259 with an .815 OPS and 55 RBI this year.