Holmes Ties Two Braves Legends With Performance But Rockies Spoil Day

Grant Holmes wasn't scheduled to pitch on Sunday until the night before. This change led to a career day and a historic start from an Atlanta Braves standpoint.

In what turned out to be a losing effort, Holmes stuck out 15 batters across 6 1/3 innings pitched, allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits and two walks. His 15 strikeouts are tied with John Smoltz and Warren Spahn for the third most by a Braves batter in a game. He is the second active Braves pitcher to record at least 15 strikeouts in a game - Spencer Strider had 16 in 2022, which is also a franchise record in a nine-inning game. Spahn's record of 18 punchouts was over 15 innings.

Heading into his surprise start, Holmes had never had a double-digit strikeout game in his professional baseball career. He's up to nine in the minors and in the Majors.

The 29-year-old pitcher felt tempo and consistency with his pitches were key factors in the elevated performance.

"I tweaked a little bit of my mechanics, but it was just more about rhythm," Holmes said. "Having a fluid rhythm, and I think it worked pretty well for me today. I was able to locate the sliders down, get some swing and misses on the heaters in the zone, which I hadn't been able to do this season. I felt like that was a big part of today's plan."

Unfortunately for the Braves, a tight contest unraveled in the later innings. After the Braves tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth, the Rockies immediately answered with six runs in the top of the seventh to make it 7-1. To add insult to injury, one of the runs scored on a balk. They plated three more in the eighth to reach the final score.

"Baseball's crazy. You never know what's gonna happen," Holmes said after the game. "I could've gone out there, pitched six innings and punched two and you know it could've been differnet."

The offense didn't have much of an answer either with just a run on six hits. It would have taken a big rally, similar to one on Friday, to catch up, but a rough day by the bullpen doesn't leave the bats off the hook.

Regardless of the outcome of the game, the dominant start still reflects how far Holmes has come. He made his MLB debut last season after a decade in the minors to provide bullpen help. By the end of the season, he was taking on the role of a spot starter and ultimately made his way to being a rotation mainstay.

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