<img alt="Atlanta Braves v Los Angeles Dodgers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NJG9X-aTr-pQTEFlGOJAfyQ75VY=/0x0:5448x3632/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74014213/2207882197.0.jpg">
Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images
A series win is within reach. Can Grant Holmes help push them there? Following a (rare) come-from-behind win in a slugfest (even rarer), the Atlanta Braves are now looking to string together a pair of wins for the first time all season as they take on the Philadelphia Phillies with a chance to also pick up their first series win of the season as well.
Needless to say, last night was a cathartic experience for the Braves — probably even more so than getting their first win of the season against the Marlins in dominant fashion. That probably has to do with the fact that they managed to score five earned runs off of Zack Wheeler, which is a massive feat in any given situation for this team. While last night’s game was a predicted pitchers’ duel that turned into a slugfest, tonight’s contest seems like runs could be there for the taking.
Taijuan Walker is getting the ball to start tonight’s game for the Phillies and they will surely be hoping that he can produce a repeat performance of what he delivered to start the season for Philadelphia. That was when he shut out the Rockies over six innings for what was easily his best start since 2023. However, the Braves will be hoping and looking to make sure that this was just a flash-in-the-pan performance. While the Braves may have gotten off to a fitful start to the season at the plate, this is still a team that has shown plenty of flashes of being a really good hitting team while the (road) Rockies aren’t exactly going to be most imposing opposition any given pitcher is going to face this season.
Still, Walker deserves to be taken seriously as if his performance last week was, in fact, the real deal. His velocity was up when compared to where it was in 2024 and while it’s just one start, it could be a sign that Walker might be onto something here in 2025. With that being said, if the Braves can find a way to pick up where they left off last night against Zack Wheeler then this could potentially be a good night for the Braves if Walker turns out to be a pumpkin as the clock strikes midnight. Michael Harris II in particular certainly had a good time against Walker during his last visit to Cobb County.
Meanwhile, Grant Holmes will be starting for the Braves tonight and he’ll be looking to get his season going in the right direction after he had a bit of a rough outing during his first start of the season against the Dodgers. That was four days after he pitched a scoreless inning during a relief appearance in San Diego and when it comes to Grant Holmes, it really is best to just take things one inning at a time.
His initial peripherals are, uh, not looking great at the moment here in the infancy of the season. A lot of that may have to do with the fact that he may have been suffering from the West Coast Havana Syndrome that affected nearly the entire team while they were in California so maybe it’ll get to a point where Holmes can benefit from some home cooking and look more like his normal self here in Atlanta. For now though, the Phillies are likely coming into this game thinking that they can do some damage against the right-hander.
This will be Holmes’ first start against Philadelphia but he did toss a handful of innings against the Phillies last season. Sadly, Holmes ended up being the goat (not in a good way for any Gen Z people reading this) in that fateful series at Citizens Bank Park last season, as he gave up the go-ahead home run to Nick Castellanos on August 29 and then got walked off by Castellanos on September 1 in two devastating losses that essentially killed off any chance the Braves had of making a comeback to win the division — slim as it may have been at that point in the season. So while Grant Holmes may be entering this game looking for a bit of redemption, the Phillies will be seeing opportunity and a chance to make things right after they dropped last night’s game.
This feels like a tossup game in my opinion. We could get yet another curveball where both pitchers are really impressive and stay out there for a while or we could see these two teams go blow-for-blow yet again. That’s the beauty of baseball — anything could happen on any given night. With that being said, the Braves are trying to take any chance they can get to finally get into a groove to start this season and picking up a series win over the defending divisional champions would certainly be a positive step forward. Hopefully the Braves can continue to put things together as they attempt to dig themselves out of the hole that they’re currently in.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, April 9, 7:15 p.m. EDT
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
TV: FanDuel Sports South, Southeast, MLB Network (out-of-market only)
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan
<img alt="Atlanta Braves v Los Angeles Dodgers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NJG9X-aTr-pQTEFlGOJAfyQ75VY=/0x0:5448x3632/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74014213/2207882197.0.jpg">
Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images
A series win is within reach. Can Grant Holmes help push them there? Following a (rare) come-from-behind win in a slugfest (even rarer), the Atlanta Braves are now looking to string together a pair of wins for the first time all season as they take on the Philadelphia Phillies with a chance to also pick up their first series win of the season as well.
Needless to say, last night was a cathartic experience for the Braves — probably even more so than getting their first win of the season against the Marlins in dominant fashion. That probably has to do with the fact that they managed to score five earned runs off of Zack Wheeler, which is a massive feat in any given situation for this team. While last night’s game was a predicted pitchers’ duel that turned into a slugfest, tonight’s contest seems like runs could be there for the taking.
Taijuan Walker is getting the ball to start tonight’s game for the Phillies and they will surely be hoping that he can produce a repeat performance of what he delivered to start the season for Philadelphia. That was when he shut out the Rockies over six innings for what was easily his best start since 2023. However, the Braves will be hoping and looking to make sure that this was just a flash-in-the-pan performance. While the Braves may have gotten off to a fitful start to the season at the plate, this is still a team that has shown plenty of flashes of being a really good hitting team while the (road) Rockies aren’t exactly going to be most imposing opposition any given pitcher is going to face this season.
Still, Walker deserves to be taken seriously as if his performance last week was, in fact, the real deal. His velocity was up when compared to where it was in 2024 and while it’s just one start, it could be a sign that Walker might be onto something here in 2025. With that being said, if the Braves can find a way to pick up where they left off last night against Zack Wheeler then this could potentially be a good night for the Braves if Walker turns out to be a pumpkin as the clock strikes midnight. Michael Harris II in particular certainly had a good time against Walker during his last visit to Cobb County.
Meanwhile, Grant Holmes will be starting for the Braves tonight and he’ll be looking to get his season going in the right direction after he had a bit of a rough outing during his first start of the season against the Dodgers. That was four days after he pitched a scoreless inning during a relief appearance in San Diego and when it comes to Grant Holmes, it really is best to just take things one inning at a time.
His initial peripherals are, uh, not looking great at the moment here in the infancy of the season. A lot of that may have to do with the fact that he may have been suffering from the West Coast Havana Syndrome that affected nearly the entire team while they were in California so maybe it’ll get to a point where Holmes can benefit from some home cooking and look more like his normal self here in Atlanta. For now though, the Phillies are likely coming into this game thinking that they can do some damage against the right-hander.
This will be Holmes’ first start against Philadelphia but he did toss a handful of innings against the Phillies last season. Sadly, Holmes ended up being the goat (not in a good way for any Gen Z people reading this) in that fateful series at Citizens Bank Park last season, as he gave up the go-ahead home run to Nick Castellanos on August 29 and then got walked off by Castellanos on September 1 in two devastating losses that essentially killed off any chance the Braves had of making a comeback to win the division — slim as it may have been at that point in the season. So while Grant Holmes may be entering this game looking for a bit of redemption, the Phillies will be seeing opportunity and a chance to make things right after they dropped last night’s game.
This feels like a tossup game in my opinion. We could get yet another curveball where both pitchers are really impressive and stay out there for a while or we could see these two teams go blow-for-blow yet again. That’s the beauty of baseball — anything could happen on any given night. With that being said, the Braves are trying to take any chance they can get to finally get into a groove to start this season and picking up a series win over the defending divisional champions would certainly be a positive step forward. Hopefully the Braves can continue to put things together as they attempt to dig themselves out of the hole that they’re currently in.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, April 9, 7:15 p.m. EDT
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
TV: FanDuel Sports South, Southeast, MLB Network (out-of-market only)
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan
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