ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin notched his first career hit during Saturday’s game against the San Diego Padres.

Facing Padres starter Randy Vásquez, Baldwin slapped an 88-mph cutter into left field. He had started the season 0-7, including a few hard-hit balls that almost left the yard.

If he wasn’t ecstatic enough, Baldwin threw out Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill at second in a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play. His pop time on the double play was 1.94 seconds, .01 second faster than Sean Murphy’s average pop time in 2024.

The top prospect was the Opening Day starting catcher after Murphy went down early in camp after he was hit in the ribs with pitch. After an impressive spring (12-42, 4 RBIs), the 24-year-old won the spot and has started behind the plate all weekend.

Despite taking an early lead in the first two games of their series against the Padres, the Braves were unable to hold onto their advantage, dropping to 0-2 on the season. After wrapping up the series against San Diego on Sunday, Atlanta will head north to Los Angeles for a three-game set against the Dodgers.

The Braves’ home opener is on April 4 against the Miami Marlins.

How to watch Braves on Gray

In Atlanta, fans can watch the Braves on Gray by tuning into PeachtreeTV, Atlanta’s CW Network. Fans can also watch games on YouTube TV, over the air on channel 17.1 and on channel 17 on Dish Network and DirecTV and channel 7 on Xfinity and Spectrum.

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