As obvious as it sounds, replacing key cogs in the starting rotation is a difficult task and arguably harder this season for the Atlanta Braves

Friday started with good news for the Braves with Austin Riley being activated off the injured list. There weren’t many highlights after that, though, as the Braves’ second-half struggles continued with an 8-3 loss to the Rangers to open a nine-game road trip.

The Rangers didn’t string together any big rallies until the eighth inning but continually put runs on the scoreboard in the first, second, fourth and fifth innings. The wheels fell off in the eighth by way of an erratic Rafael Montero.

Braves manager Brian Snitker said Austin Riley would have likely been activated from the injured list on Tuesday had the team been preparing for a playoff game. “I think it’s just smart to piggyback with \[Thursday’s off-day,

The Atlanta Braves take a flyer on a power bat out of Auburn, adding another first baseman from this year's amateur prospect class

Workers have some finishing touches to put on the field inside the racetrack at Bristol Motor Speedway, where officials are expecting a record crowd to watch the Cincinnati Reds play the Atlanta Braves in the MLB Speedway Classic next Saturday.

We've got our first look at the backdrop for next weekend's highly anticipated MLB Speedway Classic between the Braves and Reds.

A down year comes with consequences, and one of those is that the Atlanta Braves clubhouse will likely lose some teammates in the coming days

This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.