Braves return to Truist Park, pitching impresses early

The Atlanta Braves are back from the West Coast (Arizona and Los Angeles) and are returning to Truist Park for six games in six days against the Cleveland Guardians and Miami Marlins. The Braves started the 2026 season by playing 13 games in 13 days before getting a well-deserved day off on Thursday, April 8.

During the first two weeks of the season, there have been bright spots and not-so-bright spots. The pitching has been better than expected, with Bryce Elder, Grant Holmes, Martin Perez, and Reynaldo Lopez each pitching well in their starts. As expected, Chris Sale, the staff ace, currently 2-1 following a rough third start of the season and a loss in Los Angeles against the Angels on Monday, has remained the star of the rotation. 

The offense, however, has been up and down. The same team that scored 17 runs during their first game of the series in Arizona managed to lose the final two games of that series and leave dozens of runners on base in the process. On Monday night, in the first game against the Angels, the Braves only managed to score two runs on solo home runs from Drake Baldwin (5 home runs and a MLB-high 14 RBI in 12 games this season) and Mauricio Dubon (hitting .350 with 7 RBI and 2 home runs in 11 games). On Tuesday, Atlanta evened the series with a 7-2 victory that included a strong pitching performance (and a fight with former Braves outfielder Jorge Soler) by Reynaldo Lopez and the Braves bullpen. Austin Riley picked up a pair of hits in the process, and reserves Eli White and Jonah Heim contributed to the RBIs, respectively.

Grant Holmes started the rubber-game of the series on Wednesday and got off to a rough start, giving up two runs in the second inning courtesy of a solo home run from Soler and a walk with the bases loaded. Those runs tied the game at two before the Braves scored three runs in the third and two in the fifth. The runs in the fifth came off a double from Dubon that made the score 7-2. Holmes pitched better later in the game, holding the Angels scoreless in the third, fourth, and fifth innings. The Braves won 8-2 while Holmes went 6.2 with six strikeouts, giving up just those two runs and five hits. It was easily his best start of the season.

Atlanta, 4-2 at Truist Park this season, has not lost a series this season. The four-game split in Arizona is the only blemish thus far. 

In The Community

The Braves hosted their annual Block Party in the city’s Summerhill neighborhood on Wednesday afternoon. Dozens of people made their way down Georgia Avenue to enjoy food, buy Braves swag from a merchandise truck, and sign up for free t-shirts. The crowd included kids who ran around after bubbles and wore the free red Braves t-shirts they picked up from a table set up. 

The block party took place two blocks away from the former home of the Braves, which was once known as Turner Field, and is now home to Georgia State University’s football games, Center Parc Credit Union Stadium. Wednesday was the 52nd anniversary of Hank Aaron’s Major League Baseball record-breaking 715th home run on April 8, 1974. The late Aaron hit that home run in what was then known as Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.  

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