As the Atlanta Braves' starting pitching continues to struggle, the return of Atlanta's dynamic early-season offense would go a long way for the team. During the series against the Rangers, a couple of bats are showing signs of life. Austin Riley and Drake Baldwin struggled in June, but as we turn the page to post-All-Star break action, both hitters seem to be back on course.
This comes during a much needed period for the Braves as they cling to their NL East lead over the Phillies. Sunday's series finale against Texas saw both Riley and Baldwin produce multi-homer games, lengthening a lineup that looks to have the task of picking up the rotation until GM Alex Anthopoulos can acquire reinforcements.
🚨 THIS IS NOT A REPLAY 🚨 Austin Riley does it again!#HyundaiHighlight pic.twitter.com/1XTYyCReQc
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 19, 2026
Austin Riley and Drake Baldwin heating up in July is exactly what the Braves needed
Outslugging teams is probably the best method for winning games in July for the Braves, as the pitching remains shaky at best. The return of Ronald Acuña Jr. is important, but a resurgent Baldwin and Riley are really what this team needed. Baldwin's tough stretch after returning from the oblique injury gave us all a scare, but right before the All-Star break the Braves catcher began to display signs of his elite 93rd percentile hard-hit rate once again.
It's safe to say Baldwin appears to be fully back, collecting his first career five-hit game on Sunday, including a pair of rocket solo homers. Entering Sunday's game, Baldwin had a .451 slugging percentage and 122 wRC+. Those stats jumped up to .481 slugging and 132 wRC+ after Baldwin's immaculate performance on Sunday.
As for Riley, he homered twice in a game since his multi-homer game on April 17 at Citizens Bank Ballpark. Riley entered Sunday slugging just .339, a mark that would easily be a career-worst. However, each of his Sunday homers looked like vintage Riley, smashing a hanging breaking ball to left field, and rocketing a center-cut fastball 109.4 mph over the center field wall.
Perhaps most importantly, Riley finally came through with runners in scoring position, a situation Riley has confirmed he wanted to be better in. With the bases loaded in the seventh inning, Riley produced a huge single to provide a couple of insurance runs for the Atlanta bullpen. Hopefully, Sunday's series finale against the Rangers is what spurs both Riley and Baldwin to impressive second halves.
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