Braves Report: A catching conundrum

TODAY’S MATCHUP

Credit: Godofredo A. Vasquez/AP

Credit: Godofredo A. Vasquez/AP

📺 How to watch: First pitch at 2:10 p.m. on FanDuel Sports.

⚾ The pitching matchup: Spencer Schwellenbach (4-4, 3.24) vs. Chad Patrick (3-5, 2.84).

Patrick, a former fourth-round pick by Arizona, is in his rookie season for the Brewers and has impressed over 13 starts. The righty throws his cutter nearly half the time.

📝 The lineup:

THE MURPHY MATTER

You’ll notice that catcher Sean Murphy isn’t in today’s lineup.

And his playing time is getting scarcer.

It’s easy to see why: Overall, Murphy’s hitting just .222 on the season. It’s more like .176 this month. And he’s *slugging* just .238 over his past seven games.

Seven of his nine home runs came way back in April.

Meanwhile, Baldwin: Although he’s just 1-for-11 on the current road trip, he’s hit safely in 20 of his past 25 starts.

He’s been batting second of late — and ranks second among MLB rookies in batting average (.299), slugging percentage (.496) and OPS (.846).

He keeps getting better defensively, too.

So what do you do?

You’ve got an anemic offense and, thus far, Baldwin represents one of the few solid answers you’ve found.

So do you keep rolling Murphy out there on a regular basis? Or relegate him to day-game-after-a-night-game duties? Or try and move him before next month’s trade deadline?

He’s under contract through 2028, with a club option for 2029, which would make him attractive — but the above stats do the opposite.

Interested in what y’all think.

What would you like to see happen with Murphy? Stay the course? All in on Baldwin? Shoot me an email at tyler.estep@ajc.com.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Credit: Aaron Gash/AP

Credit: Aaron Gash/AP

This is technically from Monday’s game, but it’s part of my favorite genre: Ronald Acuña Jr. being kind of dramatic while dodging pitches.

SPEAKING OF ACUÑA …

After posting a three-hit night during Tuesday’s loss in Milwaukee, the Atlanta right fielder is batting .333 with five homers and nine RBIs in the 17 games since his return.

Small sample size, of course, but his OPS is 1.028 — better than his MVP year in 2023.

MORE ALL-STAR EVENTS

Yesterday I told you about a sweepstakes to watch the MLB draft live when it comes to the Coca-Cola Roxy ahead of the All-Star game.

There are other free events worth mentioning, too.

⭐ Home Run Derby X: Nope, not the regular home run derby. This one’s a 3-on-3 coed competition that involves hitting bombs and making catches — and it features former Braves stars like Jeff Francoeur and Andruw Jones

More specifics here, but it goes down July 13 at Georgia Tech’s Russ Chandler Stadium.

⭐ The red carpet show: This is your chance to be there as players, coaches and their families parade through The Battery on their way to Truist Park.

Starts at 2 p.m. July 15 and involves a sweepstakes.

Thanks for reading Braves Report. Tell a friend — and maybe give the AJC’s Sports Daily newsletter a shot, too.

Until next time.