Braves look to even series behind Grant Holmes

The Braves aim to even the series after Friday’s game where they benefited from strong pitching but managed little offensively. Saturday, August 15 at 7:15 PM ET at Truist Park, Atlanta, features a matchup of Eduardo Rodriguez against Grant Holmes. Rodriguez’s season numbers show a wide separation between a 2.70 ERA and a 4.41 xFIP over 143.1 innings, alongside reduced strikeouts (6.34 K/9). While the article describes his five-pitch mix—four-seamer, changeup, cutter, curveball and sinker—as generally average in movement, it says he locates pitches well. The Braves’ best path, according to the preview, would be to generate homers against him given a high contact rate. Holmes is coming off two outings of 6.0 innings and is noted for a slider described as an “absolute weapon,” though the preview expects his earlier 2-strikeout production may not repeat.