Atlanta

Braves

Baldwin got the scoring going for the Braves in the second inning when he singled to drive home Dominic Smith to put his team up 1-0. He would break things open for the Braves in the fourth inning when he blasted a three-run homer off of Cal Quantrill to give the Braves a 5-0 lead, and drove in one more run in the fifth inning to cap a stellar performance. Baldwin is now sitting on 16 homers for the season and is well on pace to crush his rookie total of 19.

It was business as usual for Sale, who allowed just two baserunners on the evening in a game where his offense gave him an early 6-0 lead that proved to be more than enough for him to pick up the win. Sale needed only 89 pitches to get through seven innings and was pitching on somewhat extended rest after his last start was shortened by a two-hour rain delay in St. Louis. Sale recorded the 2,700th strikeout of his career in this one, becoming the 27th player in MLB history to hit the mark. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in every game this season and will make his next start on Wednesday at home against the Padres.

Over the All-Star break, Acuña had been playing in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League. Acuña hit a grand slam yesterday for the FCL Braves. Today he’ll be bumped up to Gwinnett, meaning he’s probably in line to return to the bigs in the next couple of days.

Gracia receives just a shade under $3.98 million, which is considerably less than the original slot value, roughly $6.68 million for the ninth-overall pick, with Atlanta using that savings to sign third-rounder Jensen Hirschkorn to an above-slot deal. The 21-year-old projects as a corner outfielder with an above-average hit tool and over-the-fence pop after a strong collegiate career split between Virginia and Duke.

Acuña has gone 0-for-6 with two strikeouts across a pair of contests for Atlanta’s lone minor-league affiliate still playing organized baseball during the All-Star break. The 28-year-old franchise cornerstone appears likely to rejoin the Braves lineup when they kick off the second half with a three-game series against the Rangers on Friday.

Kim has gone 2-for-4 with a homer across two contests during the All-Star break. It’s unclear whether the Braves want him to continue facing minor-league arms for a couple additional games at Triple-A Gwinnett since he was really struggling at the plate before hitting the injured list earlier this month.

The Braves thought they might have something in Kerr, a former Padres reliever, a couple of years ago, but he got hurt that June and has gone the last two years without pitching in a game. He’s finally ready to now, but he’s going to have to prove himself all over again in the minors. The 31-year-old has a 5.30 ERA in 54 1/3 career innings in the majors, though it comes with a pretty nice 65/20 K/BB.

Despite falling to the 83rd pick in the draft, Hirschkorn, a right-hander out of a California high school, gets mid-first round money from the Braves. It’s actually the same bonus the Braves’ first pick at ninth overall, AJ Gracia, is getting, which is obviously intentional. Gracia signed for nearly $3 million under slot, and Hirschkorn is getting $3 million over slot.

Acuña played five innings in right field during his first rehab contest. The 28-year-old fantasy superstar appears on track to return to Atlanta’s lineup following the All-Star break. He’s been brought along slowly in his recovery from a left hamstring issue that has forced him to the injured list on a pair of occasions since early May. He’ll get in a handful of additional rehab contests in the Florida Coast League before his next steps come into focus.

There’s no way to sugarcoat the obvious that Kim has been a complete non-factor at the dish in his Atlanta debut this season. The 30-year-old was hitting .068 (5-for-73) with zero homers and one steal in 82 plate appearances before hitting the shelf with right middle finger inflammation last week. There’s still time for him to turn things around and the Braves are obviously hoping that the minor-league reset will jump-start that process.