Atlanta's been the better team all year and just took a series off San Diego. Baltimore's been better lately, riding a run that had the Orioles playing their best baseball since 2023 before Boston snapped it.
Bush’s Picks
ATLBAL
ATLBAL
OverUnder
Best BetBraves
Atlanta's the better team on paper and has been most of the season, and that shows up even accounting for their own pitching injuries. Baltimore's recent stretch is legitimate, but it came without needing to face an offense with this kind of firepower. Back the Braves here — the record gap is real, not a fluke of schedule.
Braves
+58-41, won 4 of last 5 games
+Dropped 15 runs on Rangers in one game
−Rotation gutted: Strider, Smith-Shawver, Schwellenbach all out
−Acuna Jr. still not activated as of July 20
Orioles
+Won 7 straight before Monday's loss to Boston
+Swept Astros and Royals in back-to-back series
−Both Rutschman and Basallo out, catching depth thin
−49-52 record still trails Atlanta by a wide margin
This is a first-place team against a club still trying to find its footing, and the recent form backs that up. The Braves have won 4 of their last 5, including a 15-1 demolition of the Rangers, and they'll roll into Baltimore at 58-41. The Orioles are 49-52 but have looked like a different team lately behind small-ball execution and quality starts, even if Monday's loss to Boston snapped a run that had them playing their best baseball in years.
Both clubs are dealing with lineup and rotation questions heading into Friday's 7:05 PM ET first pitch. Atlanta's rotation has been hammered by injuries all year — Spencer Strider, AJ Smith-Shawver and Spencer Schwellenbach are all out long-term — while Baltimore is scrambling behind the plate after losing both Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo. Whoever Atlanta and Baltimore trot out to start this one will be doing it under some version of that patchwork.
Show fees
7:05 PM ET
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ATL Braves
BAL Orioles
The bigger name to watch is Ronald Acuna Jr., still not activated off the 10-day IL as of the latest update from manager Walt Weiss on July 20. Atlanta's offense has managed without him, scoring in bunches even in his absence, but getting its best player back would only tighten the grip on the NL East race.
Atlanta Braves
Jul 23?vs Padres—
Jul 22?vs Padres—
Jul 21?vs Padres—
Baltimore Orioles
Jul 22?@ Red Sox—
Jul 21?@ Red Sox—
Recent form.
Baltimore's absence at catcher is the more pressing issue right now. Rutschman is on his third IL stint of the season, this time for wrist inflammation, and Basallo is day-to-day with a shoulder issue — that's left journeyman Chadwick Tromp holding down the position behind the plate for a team that had just won 7 in a row. Losing both catchers didn't stop the O's from sweeping Houston, but it's a real depth test against a lineup like Atlanta's.
Atlanta Braves
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Baltimore Orioles
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Atlanta's been the more complete team basically all season, and even with the rotation attrition they've found a way to keep winning series. Baltimore's recent stretch says this team is better than a sub-.500 record suggests, but a soft spot behind the plate against a lineup that just dropped 15 runs on Texas is the kind of thing that gets exposed fast. Either way, this is a legitimately good watch — a team chasing a division title against a team trying to prove its hot streak was real.
