Nationals' Michael Soroka faces familiar foe in Braves

The Atlanta Braves will be opposed by a familiar face when they try to reach the .500 mark for the first time this season on Tuesday against the visiting Washington Nationals.

The Braves recorded a 4-3 win on Monday in the opener of the four-game series. Atlanta has failed in its previous five tries to reach the break-even mark.

The Braves will try to do it on Tuesday against Washington right-hander Michael Soroka (0-2, 7.20 ERA), who began his career with Atlanta.

Soroka was one of the top pitching prospects in the Atlanta organization when he sustained a series of Achilles injuries that caused him to miss the 2021 and 2022 seasons and make only seven appearances in 2023. The Braves traded Soroka to the Chicago White Sox, with whom he went 0-10 with a 4.74 ERA in 25 games in 2024.

Health has been an issue for Soroka this year, too. He signed with the Nationals as a free agent and missed time with a right biceps strain before being reinstated from the injured list on May 7. In his return to the rotation, Soroka pitched five innings and allowed four runs on five hits, two walks and eight strikeouts in an 8-6 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday.

"As a whole, we got in the zone early, let them know that I was throwing all pitches for strikes," Soroka said. "That's ultimately where I'm at my best."

This will be Soroka's first appearance against his former team.

"We've got to keep him healthy, right?" Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. "I think he's going to give us a lot of innings, keep us in games."

Atlanta starter Spencer Schwellenbach (1-3, 3.61) recorded his lone win on April 4. After enduring a stretch of four starts in which he allowed 19 runs over 21 1/3 innings, the right-hander bounced back to fire six strong innings against Cincinnati on Thursday and limited the Reds to one run in an eventual 5-4, 11-inning Braves victory.

Schwellenbach made one start against the Nationals last season, taking the loss after allowing three runs on five hits in a 7-2 Nationals victory on May 29.

He is part of a solid group of Atlanta starters who have kept the teams in games while the offense has been slumping. With Chris Sale, Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder and A.J. Smith-Shawver, the rotation has been very good.

"Ever since Schwelly didn't get out of the fourth inning (May 3 vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers), every start since then has been really good," Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. "And the bullpen, those guys just keep handing the baton off in different leverage situations. We're using them all and they're all doing great."

The Braves announced Monday that 2023 National League MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. would begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday with the team's Florida Complex Rookie League team in North Port. He has been out since May 2024 following surgery for a torn left ACL.

"They'll re-evaluate him again like anybody the day after and see how he feels, but it'll be good to get him running around in the outfield again," Snitker said.