Atlanta

Braves

It’s the first day off on the season for the 29-year-old slugger, though he may still appear as a pinch-hitter in a critical spot off the bench. Mauricio Dubon will start in his place at the hot corner and bat seventh while Jorge Mateo draws a start at shortstop and will hit ninth against Brandon Pfaadt and the Diamondbacks.

This was always the assumption after Pérez (4 1/3 scoreless innings) outperformed José Suárez (4 ER in 3 2/3 IP) against the A’s on Tuesday. Pérez could stay in the rotation until Spencer Strider makes his way back from an oblique strain.

Tough to give up no earned runs and lose a baseball game, but it was Elder’s fault. Not only did the right-hander put the runners on, it was his error on a bunt from Jose Fernandez that scored the two runs. Still, this was an excellent start from the 26-year-old; one that saw him strike out eight and issue one walk. He generated 13 swing and misses, and he has yet to give up an earned run in his first two starts. It’s hard to take it too seriously considering how mediocre Elder has been, but the results are the results. He gets the Guardians on Friday.

Strider remains without a firm timeline to begin a minor league rehab assignment, which is likely to last several weeks. He’ll need to progress to facing hitters before he’s ready for rehab starts. The 27-year-old former fantasy ace has been on the shelf since the end of spring training recovering from an oblique strain. It’s starting to look like some point in May might be an optimistic goal at this juncture.

Fuentes delivered a dominant performance in his return to the minors, piling up 12 swinging strikes while averaging 97.1 mph on his four-seamer. The 20-year-old, who built up his pitch count to 72 (40 strikes) is one of the more intriguing young arms in the league as Atlanta continues to stretch him out before bringing him back to the majors as a starter. It feels like only a matter of weeks before he’s ready for a real shot at the highest level, which makes him a worthwhile stash candidate in extremely deep mixed leagues.

Albies broke a scoreless tie in the ninth inning as he launched the second pitch he saw from Paul Sewald for a 382-foot (105.6 mph EV) solo shot to put the Braves on top to stay. He also singled twice in the ballgame, finishing the evening 3-for-4. He’s off to a terrific start to the 2026 season slashing .355/.412/.548 with two homers and three RBI in his first 34 plate appearances.

The Braves entered the ninth inning in a scoreless tie until Ozzie Albies and Olson hit back-to-back solo shots off of Paul Sewald to take control of the game. Olson’s blast was a 426-foot (107.3 mph EV) missile to left-center. He finished the night 1-for-4 and is now hitting .313/.353/.625 with a pair of long balls and six RBI on the season.

Iglesias made it look easy in this one, setting down the heart of the Diamondbacks’ lineup in order. He got Corbin Carroll on a fly ball to center, Geraldo Perdomo on a ground ball to second and Gabriel Moreno on a fly ball to right to end it. Despite the lack of save chances, the 36-year-old closer is off to a strong start to the season, firing three scoreless innings with a 0.33 WHIP and a 1/0 K/BB ratio.

The 30-year-old hurler allowed just one hit on the night — a one-out single by Ketel Marte in the sixth inning — while also issuing three free passes. He traded zeroes with Diamondbacks’ left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez through six innings and both starters ended up with no-decisions. Holmes racked up 14 swings and misses on 85 offerings on the night — nine on his slider — while posting a strong CSW of 36 percent. He’ll carry an excellent 2.45 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and an 8/5 K/BB ratio (11 innings) into Wednesday’s showdown against the Angels in Los Angeles.

Mederos, owner of a career 8.53 ERA in 25.1 innings (three starts) over three years with the Angels, will head to the Braves after being designated for assignment last week. Given how banged up the pitching depth is in Atlanta, it’s hard to fault them for bringing in another arm. The Angels will receive pool space to help them rebuild the back yard, though they’ll have to acquire the pool elsewhere.