After a comfortable 8-2 win to start the series behind Chris Sale, the Braves will turn to Grant Holmes, hoping for another solid start from the stylish righty. Holmes has been perfectly fine for a back-end starter this season, although his ERA (3.22) has been substantially better than his xFIP (4.59). What has really killed Grant so far has been his command, which has been really shaky, walking 5.64 batters per 9 innings, which is just way too many. That said, command has never really been a major issue for Grant in that way, so I would expect that number to come down substantially. He has had some success with his fastball so far, but has really gotten most of his work done with his diving mid-80s slider, which boasts a 35.8% whiff rate. Look for Grant to keep his walks under control in order to have success against a solid Arizona lineup.
On the other side, the Diamondbacks are sending the 36 year old veteran Merrill Kelly to the mound. Kelly has fallen off quite a bit since strong career-best 2022-23 seasons. The strikeouts have cratered to around 7.5 K/9 and the walks are roughly average. So far this season he has a 4.73 ERA that is right in line with a 4.65 xFIP. He pitches off of a low 90s four-seamer, but has most of his success off of his changeup and slider. As far as pitch shape goes, the only pitch in his arsenal that really stands out is the changeup, which has some impressive drop to it, along with the normal arm-side run. On paper this looks like a roughly even pitching matchup, so let’s hope it’s the dominant version of the Braves’ offense that shows up today and not the impotent one that was ever-present earlier this season.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Saturday, April 26, 8:10 p.m. EDT
Location: Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
TV: FanDuel Sports South, Southeast
Streaming: MLB.tv (free)
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan