Rockies, Braves experiencing what a difference a season makes

The 2026 Colorado Rockies were destined to be better than the 2025 team, and they've lived up to that expectation. Colorado reached 14 wins five weeks earlier than last year's 43-119 squad and is coming off a 4-2 road trip.

The Rockies will try to build on that success when they host the Atlanta Braves on Friday night for the first of a three-game series in Denver.

Right-hander Grant Holmes (2-1, 3.62 ERA) will be on the mound for Atlanta while Colorado will counter with left-hander Jose Quintana (1-2, 4.91).

The Rockies won just a single road trip during the 2025 season and matched that when they swept the New York Mets before taking one of three games against the Cincinnati Reds on the most recent trip.

In mid-June last season, Colorado finished a seven-game road trip at 4-3 against the Braves and Washington Nationals.

"It was a good road trip for us," Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said after Thursday's 6-4 loss to Cincinnati. "Anytime you can get a winning record on the road it's a good thing. We look forward to going home and continuing it."

Outfielder Troy Johnston leads the Rockies with a .313 batting average.

Quintana earned his first win of the season when he beat the Mets 3-1 on Sunday in his longest outing of his four starts. Coming off a rough game against the Los Angeles Dodgers where he was knocked around for six runs in five innings of work and took a 12-3 loss, he allowed just a run on two hits over 5 1/3 innings to beat New York.

He will make his 12th career start against the Braves on Friday night. In the previous 11 outings, he is 4-6 with a 6.39 ERA.

Atlanta, like the Rockies, has turned things around after a disappointing 2025. The Braves went 76-86 last year but hold the best record in the majors (22-10) heading into May despite a 5-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.

The Braves have played well on the road, winning eight of their last nine, but face a tough nine-game trip that begins in the thin air in Denver and continues against the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Holmes will make his second career start in Colorado and third overall against the Rockies. In his two other outings against them, he is 0-1 with a 5.56 ERA but was hit hard in his lone appearance at Coors Field. Holmes allowed five runs on six hits in five innings on Aug. 9, 2024. He didn't get a decision in the 6-5 loss.

Atlanta tied a franchise record for the best start through 31 games before Thursday's loss, matching the 1997 Braves at 22-9. The quick start to 2026 is a seven-win improvement from last season, and Matt Olson is one of the reasons. The first baseman leads the team in home runs (nine), doubles (13), RBIs (28) and is batting .296.

"Success is going to breed confidence, personally and as a team," Olson said. "It's nice when you're playing winning baseball and you don't feel like you have to be the guy every single night. That takes stuff off your plate and it actually helps everybody in the lineup."

Olson has fared well on the road against Colorado, slugging four home runs, driving in 16 runs and hitting .259 in 21 games in Denver. He is batting .254 in 36 career games against the Rockies.