<img alt="MLB: Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Dh76yHTOkHaO1Pao-SNC8_boTMI=/42x0:4938x3264/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74007246/usa_today_25817346.0.jpg">
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
You just gotta win series after series. Just keep winning series. The elation of the first victory of the season didn’t last long. After the Atlanta Braves drubbed the Marlins 10-0 in the season home opener, the Marlins struck back with a 4-0 victory last night. To take their first series of the season, Grant Holmes is going to have to battle Sandy Alcantara.
Alcantara is nothing to mess with, and he has looked just fine coming back from Tommy John surgery. In his two starts, his ERA sits at 3.72, and the more advanced metrics actually think that’s about a run too high. He’s struck out 11 in 9.2 innings while getting an astounding 74% of batted balls on the ground. Statcast gives an equally high view of his performance so far.
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qXngLm71pz4sHMtTfq9iMtjZqpY=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25941596/Picture_1.png">
Alcantara is not a typical swing-and-miss ace, but he’s basically an ace anyway. He typically limits walks and gets a high amount of groundballs (though the 74% so far is insane … and unlikely to continue) by using a balanced five-pitch mix. The sinker is the most notable of the pitches, humming in there around 97 mph, but he adds a four-seamer, change, curve, and slider, and he throws all of them more than 10% of the time. Sandy might not get a lot of whiffs, but as his name implies, he can keep you off balance.
Grant Holmes … is not an ace. His first start of the year was … not great, but it was against the Dodgers. He went four innings, walking four and striking out three, and that’s not going to cut it if he wants to maintain his spot in the rotation. Grant can be forgiven, though, because it was the Dodgers, and the Dodgers have a habit of making just anyone look bad. Holmes will try to get back on track against a much easier lineup today.
The 80s rock-looking righty also boasts a five-pitch mix, but he really only throws three of them. The four-seamer comes in around 95, and he throws it nearly 50% of the time. The slider and curve basically split the rest of the pitches. These pitches were more effective as a starter last season, and the numbers showed that. He’ll be looking to get back to his second-half-of-2024 form today.
The pitching match-up does not favor the Braves in this one, but they remain the better team and could use a series win to begin the march back to .500.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Sunday, April 6, 2025 at 1:35 PM EST
Location: Truist Park in Atlanta, GA
TV: FanDuel Sports South and Southeast
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan / 1600/1400/1130 AM La Mejor
<img alt="MLB: Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Dh76yHTOkHaO1Pao-SNC8_boTMI=/42x0:4938x3264/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74007246/usa_today_25817346.0.jpg">
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
You just gotta win series after series. Just keep winning series. The elation of the first victory of the season didn’t last long. After the Atlanta Braves drubbed the Marlins 10-0 in the season home opener, the Marlins struck back with a 4-0 victory last night. To take their first series of the season, Grant Holmes is going to have to battle Sandy Alcantara.
Alcantara is nothing to mess with, and he has looked just fine coming back from Tommy John surgery. In his two starts, his ERA sits at 3.72, and the more advanced metrics actually think that’s about a run too high. He’s struck out 11 in 9.2 innings while getting an astounding 74% of batted balls on the ground. Statcast gives an equally high view of his performance so far.
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qXngLm71pz4sHMtTfq9iMtjZqpY=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25941596/Picture_1.png">
Alcantara is not a typical swing-and-miss ace, but he’s basically an ace anyway. He typically limits walks and gets a high amount of groundballs (though the 74% so far is insane … and unlikely to continue) by using a balanced five-pitch mix. The sinker is the most notable of the pitches, humming in there around 97 mph, but he adds a four-seamer, change, curve, and slider, and he throws all of them more than 10% of the time. Sandy might not get a lot of whiffs, but as his name implies, he can keep you off balance.
Grant Holmes … is not an ace. His first start of the year was … not great, but it was against the Dodgers. He went four innings, walking four and striking out three, and that’s not going to cut it if he wants to maintain his spot in the rotation. Grant can be forgiven, though, because it was the Dodgers, and the Dodgers have a habit of making just anyone look bad. Holmes will try to get back on track against a much easier lineup today.
The 80s rock-looking righty also boasts a five-pitch mix, but he really only throws three of them. The four-seamer comes in around 95, and he throws it nearly 50% of the time. The slider and curve basically split the rest of the pitches. These pitches were more effective as a starter last season, and the numbers showed that. He’ll be looking to get back to his second-half-of-2024 form today.
The pitching match-up does not favor the Braves in this one, but they remain the better team and could use a series win to begin the march back to .500.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Sunday, April 6, 2025 at 1:35 PM EST
Location: Truist Park in Atlanta, GA
TV: FanDuel Sports South and Southeast
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan / 1600/1400/1130 AM La Mejor
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