Grant Holmes felt he was on the verge of a breakout performance when he notched his 10th strikeout by the fifth inning — a career first for the Atlanta right-hander.
“It was a special moment,” Holmes said.
Despite Holmes delivering a career-high 15 strikeouts and holding the Rockies hitless through five innings, his standout effort was overshadowed by Atlanta’s 10-1 loss to Colorado on Sunday.
Holmes (3-6) was nearly flawless early, not allowing a hit or walk through five innings. However, he found himself trailing 1-0 due to a pair of errors he committed on a Ryan Ritter ground ball in the third. After the Braves tied the game 1-1 in the sixth, Holmes surrendered a go-ahead homer to Ryan McMahon in the seventh. He ultimately allowed three runs (two earned) over 6⅓ innings.
“It sucks to waste that start from him,” said Braves first baseman Matt Olson.
Holmes’ performance followed teammate Spencer Strider’s 13-strikeout outing in Saturday’s 4-1 win over Colorado.
I didn’t see that coming,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Holmes’ dominant outing. He also expressed surprise at the lack of offense, especially after the team tallied 16 runs in the series’ first two games.
“We’re starting to find our rhythm,” Snitker said. “But we just can’t sustain it — it’s been like that all year.”
The bullpen unraveled after Holmes exited, with Enyel De Los Santos and Jose Ruiz allowing a combined seven runs. Still, Holmes’ outing reinforced confidence in a rotation that includes Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Chris Sale, and Bryce Elder.
“Those guys are really good,” Holmes said. “If we keep this up, we’ll be in a good spot.”
Although the Braves secured series wins against Milwaukee and Colorado, they missed a chance to sweep the Rockies before facing the NL East-leading Mets. That series starts Tuesday night in Atlanta.
The Braves adjusted their rotation, pushing Sale from his planned Sunday start so he can follow Schwellenbach against the Mets, with Strider slated to pitch the final game of the three-game set.
The Mets, coming off a sweep at home by the Rays, still hold a 13-game lead over the third-place Braves.
“We’ve got to move on and be ready for Tuesday,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after their 9-0 loss to Tampa Bay.
Mendoza acknowledged the Braves’ potential: “That’s a really good team on paper.”
Atlanta will face New York again in a four-game series from June 23 to 26.
“We’ve got a chance to gain some ground,” Olson said. “It’ll be our first time playing them.”
Leave a Reply