ATLANTA -- Grant Holmes gave the Braves exactly what they needed on a night when the rotation questions were impossible to ignore, and Austin Riley added the kind of swing that can change the feel of a lineup in a hurry.
Holmes carved through the Marlins for six scoreless innings Tuesday night at Truist Park, and Riley backed him with a two-run homer in Atlanta’s 4-2 win. The result kept the Braves rolling after plenty of outside chatter about what they did not do before Monday’s Trade Deadline.
That noise was loud. Atlanta passed on adding a frontline starter, and with an injury-depleted rotation still raising eyebrows, the missing names were impossible to miss.
Tarik Skubal, Jacob deGrom, Robbie Ray, Casey Mize - those were the kinds of arms people wondered about pairing with Chris Sale. Instead, the Braves added Tyler Mahle and kept moving.
Holmes, for one night at least, looked like a starter who belongs in the middle of that conversation.
He allowed five hits and never let the Marlins get comfortable. That mattered because Holmes had been wearing the frustration of uneven outings lately, including Thursday night when he came out after 4 2/3 innings and just 69 pitches.
He had completed fewer than five innings in eight of his previous 20 starts, and the second trip through opposing lineups had often been where things started to wobble. Manager Walt Weiss had shown a willingness to get him before the end of the fifth when trouble surfaced.
This time, though, Holmes stretched the game out the way Atlanta has wanted him to more often. It was the sixth time he has gone at least six innings in 2026, and the third time this season - and fourth in his career - that he blanked an opponent over six or more frames.
The Braves have hardly been short on momentum. They’ve won six straight and 13 of 18 since the All-Star break, and their lead in the National League East now sits at 7 1/2 games.
So the club has not exactly been desperate for validation. Still, nights like this carry their own message, especially when a pitcher like Holmes answers the call.
Riley delivered the other part of it. His two-run shot in the seventh was his 13th homer of the season, and it snapped a drought that dated back to July 19, when he went deep twice against Nathan Eovaldi and the Rangers. Riley hasn’t fully matched the standard he set with three straight 30-homer seasons from 2021-23, but the recent signs have been a little better, and this one counted for plenty in a tight game.
On a night when Atlanta needed both stability and a timely burst, Holmes and Riley provided it.
In Other News...
Braves Nearly Landed A Frontline Ace Before This Trade Twist
Tarik Skubal was one of the biggest names sitting in the trade market before the MLB August 3 deadline, and the Braves were right in the middle of the chase. According to a report, Atlanta put together offers that included some of its top prospects in an effort to land the frontline left-hander, a clear sign the club was willing to pay up for impact pitching as the deadline approached.
The Tigers ultimately sent Skubal to the Dodgers, and Detroit president Scott Harris said Los Angeles had the best offer in a bidding war that drew multiple teams. For Atlanta, the sting is not just that it missed out on a coveted starter, but that its pursuit never got the kind of response that might have pushed talks any further. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Just Made A Telling Call On A Former MVP Bat
Andrew McCutchens brief stay in the Braves organization is over. Atlanta released the veteran outfielder from his minor league contract after he joined the club in July following his own release from the Texas Rangers, and his opportunities in Triple-A Gwinnett never really got much traction.
The move was part of a broader roster reset that also sent left-hander Austin Gomber and outfielder Ben Gamel out the door. For a Braves team constantly sorting through depth and looking for the right mix, the decisions underscore how quickly those fringe spots can change when the clock starts ticking on the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Just Moved On From Three Familiar Veteran Names
The Braves trimmed their Triple-A roster this week by releasing three familiar veteran names, opening the door for Andrew McCutchen, Austin Gomber and Ben Gamel to become free agents and sign elsewhere. It is the sort of late-summer move that can get overlooked outside the farm system, but it speaks to how quickly Triple-A can turn into a holding pattern for experienced players trying to find one more path back to the majors.
McCutchens stop with the Braves was especially notable given his status as a former NL MVP, even if his time in the organization came only after he was released by the Rangers. Gomber and Gamel also brought plenty of big league mileage with them, yet all three had been searching for traction in the minors, and now Atlanta has moved on as they look for their next opportunity somewhere else. [Read more 🡒]