Atlanta’s right-handed starter may now be the ace of the staff.
Stop us, oh, oh, oh stop us,
Stop us if you think that you’ve heard this one before.
The Atlanta Braves sucked again this week!
Hooray!
Playing two teams who were at or below the .500-mark, they dropped five of the six games they played to fall 11 games below the .500 mark less than a week into July.
That’s awesome!
That’s great!
Things couldn’t be going better!
(Murmurs using words not allowed to be posted on here.)
Matt Olson had a nice week. Jurickson Profar homered in his return from an 80-game PED suspension. Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin continued to hit well enough that they both were finally in the same line-up on Sunday, but this week’s Battery Power Braves Player of the Week goes to Sunday’s starting pitcher.
Battery Power Braves Player of the Week: Grant Holmes
Grant Holmes made two starts this week and gave the Braves a chance to win both times. Both times Atlanta did not win, but that is not the fault of the right-hander who currently might be considered the ace of the injury-depleted Braves rotation.
Against the Los Angeles Angles, he spun six innings of shut-out ball, allowing only three hits and three walks while striking out 10. The Braves lost the game – because of course they did – but Holmes did all he could do.
On Sunday, Holmes faced the Baltimore Orioles, and again gave the Braves six innings while allowing two runs. He wasn’t as sharp in Sunday’s morning start, but struck out five, yielding five hits and three walks. He was saddled with the loss as Atlanta mustered only one ninth inning run.
For the week, Holmes hurled 12 innings, struck out 15 and allowed only two runs.
The former first round pick – who made his MLB debut only one year ago – has progressed from long-man, to swing-starter, to back-of-the-rotation pitcher to temporarily being maybe the ace of the staff.
For the season, he’s made 18 starts in 19 games, striking out 118 in 102 innings with a 3.44 ERA and 3.71 xFIP while having one of the best arsenal of breaking pitches in the National League.
In a season that is the most disappointing in more than a decade, Holmes effectiveness in the Atlanta Braves’ starting rotation has been a season-long bright-spot.
Congratulations to Grant Holmes, who is this week’s Battery Power Player of the Week.