<img alt="Atlanta Braves v Washington Nationals" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/At5wl_VDhfw-j_Q_fbmxJipUoZk=/53x0:8129x5384/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73542665/2157515484.0.jpg">
Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images
Lopez will make a rare start on regular (four days’) rest as the Braves seek their first sweep in over two months Sunday’s game between the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals will feature at least a couple of rarities, with a chance for more. The definite rarities? For one, it’s a very early Sunday start: this contest is one of those 12:05 pm ET games on Roku. For another, it represents just the third time this season that Reynaldo Lopez will start on regular, i.e., four days’, rest. If the Braves win, they’ll achieve yet another rarity: a sweep. The Braves pulled off three sweeps in April, but have just two since, and one of them may not even count. If you take away the two-game sweep of the Red Sox in early May, the Braves only sweep since April ended has been one against the Tigers at home in mid-June, where they held Detroit to just two runs in three games. While the Braves are currently on a mini-roll, having won six of seven and ten of 14, including their last four series, none of those have been sweeps. But, they have the opportunity to do so this afternoon.
Lopez will come into this game with sparkling numbers: a 49 ERA-, 76 FIP-, and 92 xFIP- in 20 starts spanning 109 2⁄3 innings. He continues to benefit from an elevated strand rate, a teeny-tiny HR/FB rate. His xERA is actually worse than pedestrian, and there’s probably some interesting case study here about whether Lopez is the rare guy who can influence his run prevention by virtue of dialing things up in a way that hampers opponent sequencing and bolsters his strand rate (or whether his ostensible ability to do so through 20 starts is just a small-sample quirk).
After missing about a month as a precautionary/extra rest measure after he felt something in his forearm, Lopez picked up right where he left off, dominating the Phillies across five innings with a 10/1 K/BB ratio in what was pretty easily the best start of his entire career. The question now becomes whether he can keep it going, especially since this will be only the third time this season he starts on regular rest. His first start on regular rest, against the Pirates, was relatively poor (3/1 K/BB ratio in 4 2⁄3), while the other, against the Phillies, was much better (6/3 K/BB ratio in six scoreless frames).
Lopez has faced the Nationals once so far this season, on June 6, in a strange outing where he had a 7/1 K/BB ratio through six frames, but gave up two homers, which doubled his homer allowance on the season. Those homers both came to start the third time through, and Lopez indeed has some pretty horrible splits once the lineup against him rolls through batter number eighteen — in part because of that one game.
The Braves have done just enough against opposing starters to stay in the game in the first two games of this series, and they’ll have to contend with DJ Herz today, which won’t necessarily be any easier than the first two games of this set. Herz is yet another guy who wasn’t much of a prospect and wasn’t even pitching well in the minors, but has done some serious work for the Washington rotation this season. He comes into this game with a 101/97/91 line in 13 starts, and tends to rack up a ton of strikeouts.
Herz had one of his less-impressive starts against the Braves back in June: he lasted 4 1⁄3 with a 5/3 K/BB ratio and had two runs charged to his ledger, but the Braves fell thanks to an offensive outburst against Hurston Waldrep. That aside, he hasn’t really been doing anything lately that’s been notably better or worse than his season line so far, so this seems like another game where the Braves’ patchwork offense might simply need to grind out enough to keep the game close and hope that the tally goes in the favor of their excellent, teamwide pitching.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Sunday, August 25, 12:05 P.M. ET
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
TV: None
Streaming: Roku
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM
XM Radio: Ch. 175
<img alt="Atlanta Braves v Washington Nationals" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/At5wl_VDhfw-j_Q_fbmxJipUoZk=/53x0:8129x5384/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73542665/2157515484.0.jpg">
Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images
Lopez will make a rare start on regular (four days’) rest as the Braves seek their first sweep in over two months Sunday’s game between the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals will feature at least a couple of rarities, with a chance for more. The definite rarities? For one, it’s a very early Sunday start: this contest is one of those 12:05 pm ET games on Roku. For another, it represents just the third time this season that Reynaldo Lopez will start on regular, i.e., four days’, rest. If the Braves win, they’ll achieve yet another rarity: a sweep. The Braves pulled off three sweeps in April, but have just two since, and one of them may not even count. If you take away the two-game sweep of the Red Sox in early May, the Braves only sweep since April ended has been one against the Tigers at home in mid-June, where they held Detroit to just two runs in three games. While the Braves are currently on a mini-roll, having won six of seven and ten of 14, including their last four series, none of those have been sweeps. But, they have the opportunity to do so this afternoon.
Lopez will come into this game with sparkling numbers: a 49 ERA-, 76 FIP-, and 92 xFIP- in 20 starts spanning 109 2⁄3 innings. He continues to benefit from an elevated strand rate, a teeny-tiny HR/FB rate. His xERA is actually worse than pedestrian, and there’s probably some interesting case study here about whether Lopez is the rare guy who can influence his run prevention by virtue of dialing things up in a way that hampers opponent sequencing and bolsters his strand rate (or whether his ostensible ability to do so through 20 starts is just a small-sample quirk).
After missing about a month as a precautionary/extra rest measure after he felt something in his forearm, Lopez picked up right where he left off, dominating the Phillies across five innings with a 10/1 K/BB ratio in what was pretty easily the best start of his entire career. The question now becomes whether he can keep it going, especially since this will be only the third time this season he starts on regular rest. His first start on regular rest, against the Pirates, was relatively poor (3/1 K/BB ratio in 4 2⁄3), while the other, against the Phillies, was much better (6/3 K/BB ratio in six scoreless frames).
Lopez has faced the Nationals once so far this season, on June 6, in a strange outing where he had a 7/1 K/BB ratio through six frames, but gave up two homers, which doubled his homer allowance on the season. Those homers both came to start the third time through, and Lopez indeed has some pretty horrible splits once the lineup against him rolls through batter number eighteen — in part because of that one game.
The Braves have done just enough against opposing starters to stay in the game in the first two games of this series, and they’ll have to contend with DJ Herz today, which won’t necessarily be any easier than the first two games of this set. Herz is yet another guy who wasn’t much of a prospect and wasn’t even pitching well in the minors, but has done some serious work for the Washington rotation this season. He comes into this game with a 101/97/91 line in 13 starts, and tends to rack up a ton of strikeouts.
Herz had one of his less-impressive starts against the Braves back in June: he lasted 4 1⁄3 with a 5/3 K/BB ratio and had two runs charged to his ledger, but the Braves fell thanks to an offensive outburst against Hurston Waldrep. That aside, he hasn’t really been doing anything lately that’s been notably better or worse than his season line so far, so this seems like another game where the Braves’ patchwork offense might simply need to grind out enough to keep the game close and hope that the tally goes in the favor of their excellent, teamwide pitching.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Sunday, August 25, 12:05 P.M. ET
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
TV: None
Streaming: Roku
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM
XM Radio: Ch. 175
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