PHILADELPHIA -- Martín Pérez has been one of the Braves’ more useful rotation pieces all season, but Saturday night was the kind of start that puts the whole setup under a harsh light.
Atlanta dropped a 4-2 decision to the Phillies, and Pérez was gone before the fourth inning ended after a messy outing built around four first-inning walks. The veteran left-hander allowed four runs on seven hits and four walks over 3 2/3 innings, never really finding the strike zone with any consistency.
“I think it’s just because I’ve been waiting for seven days, and there is nothing I can do about it because that’s the plan,” Pérez said. “But I think it takes too much time for me to [not] be on the mound to face hitters. I know my next one is going to be in five days.”
That extra-rest explanation matters here because Pérez has now made his last two starts with two extra days off. He said he expects his next turn to come Thursday, which would put him back on normal rest. He also said he expects to start the series finale against the Rays, a detail that could point to where Atlanta’s rotation is headed.
Braves manager Walt Weiss said Reynaldo López is set to join the rotation once he comes off the injured list during the coming week. Bryce Elder was already moved out of Monday’s start against the Phillies in favor of Grant Holmes. If Elder, López and Pérez line up for the Rays series, AJ Smith-Shawver could be the odd man pushed into relief.
“At some point, we'll have to make a decision there,” Weiss said. “You just can't keep adding guys in the rotation.
It's nice to have an extra day or two here or there, but at some point that runs its course. But we really don't know yet.”
Weiss said that before Pérez’s rough night, and the outing only sharpened the question. Atlanta has spent the past month getting more than it expected from its rotation, but this was a reminder that not every starter responds the same way to a lighter workload.
The Braves loaded the bases before Zack Wheeler recorded his first out, but they could only scratch out runs on solo homers from Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley. That meant they couldn’t carry over the energy from Friday’s series-opening win.
Still, Atlanta is in a solid position overall. The Braves are 84-58 and hold a four-game edge over the second-place Phillies, who are 80-62. They entered Saturday lined up to claim the National League’s No. 2 seed, and their rotation had the NL’s fourth-best starting pitching ERA since Aug. 4, one day after the Trade Deadline, at 3.22.
So there’s no reason for panic. Tyler Mahle, Atlanta’s lone rotation addition, has looked like a frontline arm so far, even if the numbers deserve a closer look. His 1.48 ERA through five starts for the Braves comes with a 4.42 expected ERA, which measures contact and quality of contact.
That leaves the Braves with a real October question. Outside of Chris Sale, can they confidently hand the ball to any current starter in a postseason game?
Holmes appears to be more of a bullpen candidate, even though Atlanta has already chosen him over Elder for Monday’s series finale. López does not look like a lasting rotation answer, and Smith-Shawver’s control problems may be steering him toward the bullpen too.
That’s why the more important debate may not be which starters the Braves will use in October, but which of them will merely open games.
Pérez entered the night with a 3.14 ERA in 22 starts and a 2.04 mark over eight starts since the All-Star break. But the 35-year-old didn’t resemble the kind of pitcher you want taking the ball in the postseason. He opened by walking four of his first seven hitters, needed 35 pitches to get through the first inning, and threw only 14 strikes in that frame.
He was fortunate to escape with only two runs allowed in the inning. The damage could have been worse if not for Ronald Acuña Jr. racing back to the warning track and making a leaping catch on Bryson Stott’s bases-loaded lineout to end the inning.
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