Didier Fuentes gets the ball, and it looks like Profar will be starting
The Atlanta Braves will be facing the Angels again after the offense failed to score a run yet again. Grant Holmes had one of the best starts of his career and the offense could not come through.
It has been clear over the past few weeks that the offense lives and dies depending on how Matt Olson and Ronald Acuña Jr. perform. That needs to change if the Braves want a chance to win tonight.
The Angels will bring Yusei Kikuchi who is currently having the best season of his career in terms of ERA with a 2.79. To be fair, he has been quite fortunate with his xERA being a much higher 4.12 due in part to an unsustainable left on base percentage of 81.6 percent and a walk rate of 10.7 percent that will likely result in more runs overtime. That being said, the Braves will need to capitalize on any baserunners that they get.
Matt Olson has twenty-three ABs against Kikuchi with positive results. He has two solo HRs against him while sporting a .830 OPS. Other than Sean Murphy and his ten ABs where he has struggled to a .191 OPS, no other player on the roster has more than three ABs against Kikuchi. Acuña Jr. and Albies both have a HR against him. It will be interesting to see if the Brian Snitker factors in Murphy’s struggles against Kikuchi and start Baldwin or stick with the veteran catcher to call the game since rookie Didier Fuentes will be on the mound.
Speaking of Fuentes, his debut has not gone as hoped. In his first start he lasted 5.0 innings while giving up six hits and four ER while only striking out three. His second start was even worse. Against the Mets he only lasted 3.1 innings while giving up eight hits, six earned runs, and only recording one strikeout.
The Angels clearly don’t have as good of an offense as the Mets, but Fuentes still has a lot to prove. He was brought up quickly due to his overall profile showing promise, but if he does not turn things around soon, this could be one of his last starts before being sent back down for some more development. Even with Chris Sale being out till at least the end of August, the Braves can’t afford to have someone in the rotation with an ERA north of ten.
Fuentes has shown even at the MLB level that he has excellent control. He only has one walk so far which has equated to only a 2.5 percent walk rate. However, he has not shown swing and miss stuff with only a 17.1 percent whiff rate. He has used his fastball 60.2 percent of the time, yet hitters only swing and miss 15.8 percent of the time. That is not a recipe for success. Hopefully he has made some adjustments and can be successful tonight.
The other big news of the day is that Jurickson Profar is now eligible to return, and it appears with Alex Verdugo being DFA’d, he will get the start tonight.
The first pitch is at 7:15 EDT
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Monday, July 2, 7:15 p.m. EDT
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
TV: FanDuel Sports South, Southeast
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan