Atlanta Braves Announce Michael Harris II Change During Diamondbacks Series

The Atlanta Braves dropped the series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday evening by a score of 2-0.

With Grant Holmes on the mound for game two, Atlanta will look to even up the series and keep pace with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the No. 2 seed in the National League.

During the D-backs series, manager Walt Weiss decided to make a slight tweak in the batting order with regard to Michael Harris II.

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Michael Harris II Dropped to Fifth on Saturday

GettyATLANTA, GEORGIA – AUGUST 14: Tim Tawa #13 of the Arizona Diamondbacks (R) beats Michael Harris II #23 of the Atlanta Braves to first base in the seventh inning of a game at Truist Park on August 14, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Edward M. Pio Roda/Getty Images)

With the Diamondbacks going with Eduardo Rodriguez on Saturday, manager Walt Weiss has decided to flip Ozzie Albies in the batting order, which means Harris II will bat fifth, and Ozzie takes over at cleanup for matchup purposes.

Here is the full Atlanta Braves lineup for 8/15:

Braves 8/15: “R. Acuña Jr. RF D. Baldwin DH M. Olson 1B O. Albies 2B M. Harris II CF M. Dubón SS L. Thomas LF A. Riley 3B S. Murphy C G. Holmes SP”

Sean Murphy will form a battery with Grant Holmes, and Ronald Acuña Jr. and Drake Baldwin have flipped in the order as well.

Lane Thomas is also featured in the batting order, while Mauricio Dubon grabs the start at SS with Jim Jarvis on the bench.

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Taking a Look at Michael Harris II This Season

GettyATLANTA, GEORGIA – AUGUST 04: Michael Harris II #23 of the Atlanta Braves rounds first base after hitting a double in the fourth inning against the Miami Marlins at Truist Park on August 04, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

It would be hard to imagine where the Braves would be without the services of Michael Harris II, who has been the team’s everyday center fielder and is also having a highly productive season.

He’s batting .290 this season with 20 home runs, 128 hits, and 67 RBI, while also posting an OPS+ of 120.

Aside from his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2020, this has been a career year for Michael Harris II, and his offensive contributions have been a strong reason for the Braves’ success thus far.

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