The Atlanta Braves started the second half of the 2025 season far better than they started the first half with a dominant win over the Yankees on Friday. The team was seemingly firing on all cylinders, but it was a bit of a different lineup than we are used to seeing. While Jurickson Profar's return has played a role in the lineup change, the absence of Austin Riley has also forced the Braves to change things up.
Riley suffered an abdominal injury right at the end of the second half and that removed a pretty big cog from the middle of the Braves' lineup.