On Wednesday night, Atlanta Braves (17-19 overall) starting pitcher Grant Holmes attempted to go over .500 on the season during his start against the visiting Cincinnati Reds. The Braves, sitting at 17-18 overall, were trying to do the same. Neither the Braves nor Holmes accomplished their goal during the game, but the pitching has improved since the season began.
The starting pitching could have been blamed for the rough start to the season, but not anymore. Atlanta’s starting rotation has more than proved that it can be without Spencer Strider (one start, five hits, five strikeouts, two earned runs in an April 16 loss to the Blue Jays) for a little while longer.
On the other hand, the Atlanta Braves are hitting .240 with runners in scoring position this season.
Let’s dive into the numbers, shall we?
Even though Holmes was saddled with a loss for Wednesday’s loss to Cincinnati (five innings, seven hits, four earned runs; he‘s now 2-3 on the season), he has been a steady presence during the season. Holmes has accumulated 40 strikeouts during his six starts and has averaged five innings per start in his last five starts. For a guy who wasn’t supposed to be a factor this season, Holmes is doing a good job holding down the fort.
Last week against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Holmes gave one of his best efforts, giving up just four hits, two earned runs, and two walks in six innings. He also struck out nine Dodgers in the process.
Earlier this week, AJ Smith-Shawver looked like the best pitcher in Major League Baseball for eight innings. He had the Reds no-hit for seven innings, gave up just one hit in eight innings of work, and did not allow an earned run on Monday night. Smith-Shawver has only given up three home runs in his five starts and has 27 strikeouts.
Monday’s performance can be just the thing to get him rolling into the series at Pittsburgh this weekend.
Will the real Chris Sale please stand up? The 2024 Cy Young winner struck out 10 Reds on Tuesday, but left that game with a no-decision. That outing aside, Sale is still striking batters out in a big way. He has 56 strikeouts to his name to go along with only having walked 11 batters during his eight starts this season.
Spencer Swellenbach (1-3 with a 3.93 ERA) has looked better. Much better in fact, but he can’t pitch any worse than he did against the Dodgers last Saturday. Swellbach gave up six runs and eight hits in 3 and a third. Swellenbach is going to get a start against the Reds on Thursday and improve on his overall record and ERA.
