Braves SP set to do something he hasn't done since 2019

On Memorial Day, the righty made his first MLB start in over 1,000 days. Soroka struggled in his second outing in early June and was optioned back to the minors for some fine-tuning.

In his three starts with Triple-A Gwinnett this month, the 25-year-old posted a 1.42 ERA and 0.79 WHIP to go with 18 strikeouts across 19 innings, so he would appear ready to face big-league hitters again.

Suffice to say, Friday's return to the diamond (in front of the home fans) has been a long time coming.

After debuting with five starts in 2018, Soroka burst on the scene as an NL All-Star in 2019, going 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 174 2/3 innings pitched across 29 starts. The former first-round pick finished as the NL Rookie of the Year runner-up and was sixth in the league's Cy Young voting.

A native of Calgary, Canada, Soroka pitched only 13 2/3 innings in just three starts during the 2020 pandemic-shortened campaign before tearing his right Achilles. Soroka retore his right Achilles in 2021 during his rehab and experienced more tightness around the tendon during his second rehab in 2022, which further delayed his return to MLB.

With the second-place Miami Marlins (48-34) having a golden opportunity to gain some ground on the first-place Braves (53-27) in the NL East, this weekend's series was already highly anticipated. With Soroka's long-awaited return to Truist Park, things have certainly been kicked up a notch.