Martín

Pérez

The 92-mph liner hit Pérez in the forearm. X-rays were negative, but manager Walt Weiss said after the game that he’d likely go on the injured list anyway, allowing the Braves to add an extra pitcher with no days off this week. Pérez took the loss, leaving him 6-6 with a 3.54 ERA.

Maybe he was under the weather or something, but Pérez’s velocity was down about two mph tonight. He’s averaged 89.4 mph with his sinker this season, but his hardest pitch tonight was just 88.7 mph and he averaged 87.5 mph. It likely played a role in him giving up two homers and striking out just one of the 23 batters he faced. Pérez is slated to make his next start Sunday against the Mets.

Pérez failed to complete five innings for the first time in 12 starts this year, and the Braves dropped to 7-5 in his starts. Still, absolutely no one is complaining about Pérez being 6-4 with a 3.00 ERA nearly halfway through the season. He’s due to face the Cardinals next week, though the Braves will have some options to line up things differently after off days Thursday and Monday.

In a matchup between two pitchers who could not be more diametrically different in terms of pitching style, Pérez outdueled Jacob Misiorowski here to earn the win. Whereas Misiorowski’s fastball averaged 102 mph, Pérez did not throw a single pitch harder than 90 mph. Instead, his changeup forced seven whiffs and he worked the edges of the zone beautifully with that, his sinker, and his cutter to keep the Brewers’ hitters off-balance all night. He now has a 2.78 ERA through 73 innings this season as a true savior to the Braves’ beleaguered rotation. Next up, Pérez is scheduled to face the Padres on the road.

Pérez was excellent against the Mets on Saturday, holding New York scoreless through five innings. He started the sixth and recorded one out and left one runner on before he was relieved at 71 pitches. The inherited runner would come in to score. Pérez collected four strikeouts and ended his day with a solid 2.90 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and a 51/21 K/BB ratio across 62 innings. The 35-year-old left-hander will take on the Brewers in Atlanta on Friday.

The game will be made up on August 20. Expect Thursday’s scheduled starters — Anthony Kay and Martin Perez — to be pushed back to Saturday or skipped altogether depending on how each club wants to align their rotations going forward.

Pérez continues to string together strong outings for the Braves, picking up his second-straight win while limiting baserunners all night. All three runs and all five baserunners Pérez allowed in this one came in the third inning, as the Pirates appeared to be getting after him early on. That said, he settled in to pitch back-to-back scoreless frames while the Braves battled their way back from a 3-1 deficit to position Pérez for the victory. He’ll look to pick up a third-straight win in his next outing, which is scheduled for Thursday at the White Sox.

Pérez has made eight starts this season, pitching between five and six innings in all of them. He’s allowed no runs twice, one run twice, two runs twice and four runs twice. Throw in his two runs in 9 1/3 innings out of the pen, and he has a 2.79 ERA. He’ll pitch at home against the Pirates next week.

Pérez struck out two and walked two. His top-prospect days are well behind him at 35 years old, but he’s managed to carve out quite the sustainable career following some early struggles. The soft-tossing southpaw will be a difficult start in Cincinnati next time out.

15 seasons and 285 starts into his career, Pérez finally reaches double figures. He’d struck out nine four times previously. In spite of the strikeouts, it wasn’t a great game for Pérez, as six of the 11 balls in play against him were hit hard. Also, both batters he walked came around to score. Still, Pérez has a 2.85 ERA through 41 innings. He’ll face the Nationals on Sunday.