The Atlanta Braves hope Grant Holmes can add to his feel-good story on Saturday night when they send the 28-year-old rookie to the mound against the visiting Miami Marlins in the third game of the teams’ four-game series.
The Braves have won the first two games of the series and improved to 7-1 against Miami this season after Friday’s 5-3 come-from-behind win.
Holmes (0-0, 2.54 ERA) will face Miami’s Kyle Tyler (0-2, 4.74) in a matchup of right-handers.
Holmes was a first-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014. He fought through injuries and bounced around the minor leagues. He was released by the Oakland organization in 2022, signed by the Braves and spent two summers with Triple-A Gwinnett before being recalled.
After waiting 10 years, Holmes made his major league debut with Atlanta on June 16 and has worked primarily in long relief. When Max Fried went on the injured list, Holmes got a chance to make his first career start on Monday against the Milwaukee Brewers and allowed only one run and three hits over five innings with eight strikeouts in his team’s 8-3 loss.
“I never thought I’d ever be starting for the Atlanta Braves, you know,” Holmes said. “So here it is. I’m just taking it with everything I can and doing everything I can.”
This will be his first career outing against the Marlins.
With Fried still on the injured list and with the club giving starter Reynaldo Lopez additional time off, Holmes earned at least one more start. Once the rotation comes back together, he is expected to return to the bullpen.
“It says everything about his character, who he is, what he’s about,” Atlanta reliever Jesse Chavez said. “He’s not in it for anything else but just the love of the game. That’s a unique trait to have for a guy that’s been around in his path. It’s good. It’s fun. I build off of it. I think everybody in the clubhouse does.”
Tyler will make his seventh appearance and sixth start for the Marlins this season. In his most recent outing on Sunday, a 6-2 loss to the Brewers, he allowed four runs on seven hits, two walks and five strikeouts in four innings.
He has never faced the Braves, who are riding a four-game winning streak.
“He keeps working on his two-seamer down in Triple-A to neutralize the cutter so righties don’t lean out and get him off the field,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said. “He’s always been effective against lefties because he’s got a natural cut. He’s got a real curveball that he could use more often.”
Atlanta shortstop Orlando Arcia extended his career-best hitting streak to 13 games on Friday when he hit a solo homer. He has gone deep in both games of the series.
Miami’s Jonah Bride homered Friday against Atlanta’s Spencer Schwellenbach — his second homer in three games — and appears to be settling in at first base and in the cleanup spot.
“He’s doing the most with the opportunity,” Schumaker said. “We stuck him in the No. 4, and now he has an opportunity to play. He has hit two home runs against two good pitchers (Schwellenbach and Tampa Bay’s Taj Bradley). I think that’s what has impressed me.”
–Field Level Media