The Braves are back on the field tonight trying to avoid carrying a miserable start into July, and they’ll hand the ball to Reynaldo López as they look to even the series against St. Louis.
Atlanta opened the month by losing the series opener to the Cardinals in familiar fashion: homers allowed, homers absent. After a June that ended with another loss, the Braves are searching for a cleaner showing and, more importantly, some offense that can match up with a Cardinals lineup that has already done damage.
López, now 3-1 with a 3.47 ERA, will make his second start since rejoining the rotation. In his last outing against San Francisco, he worked under a 60-pitch limit and covered three innings, allowing one run while striking out one.
The lone blemish came in the first inning before he settled in, and Atlanta will be hoping that 57-pitch outing helps him carry some confidence into this one. How long he stays in the game could also shape the Braves’ bullpen plans, with Grant Holmes in the long-relief role and Hurston Waldrep available if he can show better command than he did in his season debut.
López hasn’t seen much of the Cardinals’ lineup. Only three St.
Louis hitters have faced him, and each has no more than two at-bats against him: Alec Burleson, Ivan Herrera, and Mayn Winn. Herrera and Winn each struck out once, and Winn also drew a walk.
On the other side, Atlanta is trying to get something going against 25-year-old Michael McGreevy, who comes in at 3-6 with a 3.12 ERA. McGreevy leans on a seven-pitch mix and works in the strike zone, and he’s logged quality starts in four of his last five appearances.
His last time out was especially sharp, as he threw six scoreless innings against the Marlins. The Braves would probably prefer something closer to his June 19 start against the Royals, when he took the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits over five innings.
McGreevy, too, is a relatively new face for this lineup. Only three Braves have faced him before, and those limited looks belong to Dominic Smith, Joey Bart, and Mike Yazstrzemski. The trio has combined for nine at-bats, with Smith supplying the only hit - a double.
Atlanta is still waiting for its power to show up, and the hope is that July brings a different result than June did. Joey Bart has already given the Braves one homer in the mix, and Ozzie Albies is still getting his due. Now the rest of the lineup needs to join in.
In Other News...
Another Braves Loss Sums Up Everything Miserable About June
June keeps finding new ways to wear out the Braves, and this one fit the months mood neatly. A 5-3 loss to the Cardinals was built on the same mix that has haunted Atlanta too often lately: a pitching staff that could not quite stop the bleeding when it mattered, and an offense that spent enough time in scoring position to make the result feel even more frustrating.
Martin Perez absorbed the biggest blow, with the Cardinals stringing together the kind of swing that can flip a night in a hurry. Atlanta had chances to answer, including a bases-loaded spot in the eighth, but managed only a single run there and never fully dug out of the hole. Even St. Louis starter Matthew Liberatore, who struck out nine in five innings, had plenty of traffic to manage with walks and a hit batter, leaving the Braves to wonder how a game with that many openings still ended the same old way. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Season Feels Stuck Waiting On Ronald Acua Jr
The Braves keep finding new ways to look stuck in neutral, and the latest skid has only sharpened the frustration. They have dropped three straight and seven of their last eight, with the offense and pitching both slipping at the same time, a rough combination for a team that entered the stretch still trying to steady itself.
Ronald Acua Jr.s absence hangs over everything, because Atlanta has not looked like the same group without one of its most dynamic players available. There has been at least some movement on his side as he works back from a hamstring strain, but the bigger picture for the Braves is unchanged: they need more stability from the lineup and rotation, and the encouraging surprise from Martin Perez is not the kind of lift they can count on all summer. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Finally Got One Encouraging Step From AJ Smith Shawver
AJ Smith-Shawver took a useful first step in his rehab journey Saturday, working three innings for Single-A Augusta in his first Minor League appearance since surgery. He allowed one run on three hits, struck out four and did not issue a walk, a sharp enough line to give the Braves something positive to point to as he continues the process of getting back on the mound.
The outing still fits into the larger picture of patience, because this was about building back arm strength and rhythm rather than rushing toward a return. Atlanta can use every encouraging checkpoint it gets from a pitcher who was part of its future plans, especially with the rotation already thinned by elbow issues and the club watching every healthy arm closely. [Read more 🡒]