Grant Holmes pulled in fifth against Padres

The lengthy relief appearance suggests that the Braves will follow through with the idea of putting Hurston Waldrep into the rotation in Holmes’ place next time through. It’s not a lock, since their off day Monday gives them options in how to proceed, but it already seemed to be the plan. Holmes’ relief appearance was his first after 15 starts with a 4-4 record and a 4.17 ERA this season.

The Braves declined to send Hurtson Waldrep back to the minors today, so it looks like they could be considering inserting him into the rotation in Holmes’ place. Holmes has pitched just 10 1/3 innings and walked 10 while posting a 6.10 ERA in his last three starts. He’s 4-4 with a 4.17 ERA in 15 starts this season.

It’ll be resumed on Wednesday afternoon in the second inning. The rain kept falling throughout the early stages of this contest at Truist Park and both teams waited through a nearly two-hour rain delay before the plug was finally pulled. Giants starter Adrian Houser allowed two runs in his lone inning of work while Atlanta’s Grant Holmes was charged with three runs over two innings. It’s also worth noting that Drake Baldwin launched a legendary 473-foot homer in his return from the injured list prior to the delay.

Holmes was handed a 4-0 lead and breezed through the first three innings, but he gave up a two-run homer to Miguel Vargas in the fourth and an RBI single to Braden Montgomery and couldn’t complete the frame. The 30-year-old walked a pair and picked up a pair of strikeouts in a decidedly mediocre outing from a pitcher who has not shown much consistency in the 2026 campaign. Holmes will try and bounce back against the Mets on Sunday.

Despite a solid final line, things were dicey for Holmes early on. He let the first three batters he faced in the first inning on via two singles and a walk before getting the groundball he needed for a double play to help himself out of that inning with just one run on the board. He settled in well after that and left this start with a 3.86 ERA with a 57:27 strikeout to walk ratio through 63 innings this season. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the White Sox and Mets with both starts on the road.

He allowed a pair of solo homers in his first four innings. Didier Fuentes came on with two on and two out in the fifth, allowing a Sal Stewart RBI single to tack one more run on Holmes’ ledger before getting Eugenio Suárez swinging to end the threat. This has been an annoyingly common problem for Holmes, who has not gone over 90 pitches since his third start of the season on April 8 and has gone more than five innings just twice over that timespan. Holmes will face the Blue Jays next week in a matchup that looks solid in theory but could continue to leave you winless.

Holmes recorded five of his first six outs via strikeout before the game went into a one-hour rain delay. He returned and stranded the bases loaded in the third, then gave up a solo homer to Dylan Crews in the fourth. Jorbit Vivas then took Holmes deep for a solo homer in the fifth. Holmes’ day would be done after the five innings. He generated an impressive 18 whiffs to strike out a season-high 10 batters. The 30-year-old right-hander will take a 3.78 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and a 48/24 K/BB ratio across 52 1/3 innings into a start against the Reds in Cincinnati on Friday.

Holmes gave up five hits on the day, lowering his ERA to 3.80 this season. He hasn’t been picking up as many strikeouts as he did a season ago, but his swinging strike rate isn’t as far off as his strikeout rate would suggest. The right-hander is lined up to face the Nationals at home next time out.

While the Braves have yet to officially announce their rotation for their weekend series against the Red Sox, the expectation is that Bryce Elder and Spencer Strider will start the first two games with Grant Holmes sliding back into the Braves’ rotation on Sunday. Pérez, 35, has posted a brilliant 2.31 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and a 26/11 K/BB ratio over 35 innings in his eight appearances (five starts, with the Braves this season.

Holmes gave up just one hit, an Alex Bregman homer with one out in the fourth. However, he lost the strike zone immediately afterwards, walking the next three batters he faced. The last two of those were on four pitches. Moisés Ballesteros probably could have worked a walk, too, but he ended up hitting an RBI groundout instead, and Dansby Swanson then struck out after failing to challenge a 1-0 slider that would have been overturned into a ball. Holmes threw 39 pitches in the fourth, so he wasn’t brought back out for the fifth. That worked out nicely anyway, as Didier Fuentes hadn’t pitched in six days and was ready to go long. As it turned out, that homer Holmes surrendered was the only Cubs’ only hit of the game in the Braves’ 5-2 win. Holmes will face the Red Sox on Sunday.