Braves host – The Atlanta Braves head back to Truist Park to face the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday, June 16 at 7:15 p.m. EDT. With injuries thinning the rotation, Grant Holmes is expected to get another start—one that comes with a troubling pattern against hitters the se
The Braves didn’t just pack for a trip home. They packed for a stretch of games that has felt like it’s slipping out of their control.
Atlanta is set to host the San Francisco Giants at Truist Park with first pitch scheduled for 7:15 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, June 16. The matchup arrives after what the team’s own season has turned into—arguably the worst stretch the Braves have had so far. There is some relief in the standings: the Giants are not good this year. And the series also brings one familiar name back into the picture. with Drake Baldwin set to be back for this series.
For the Braves, though, the bigger concern lives deeper in the starting rotation. Because injuries have sapped their depth, it appears Grant Holmes will be getting another start—despite evidence that his outings get harder the longer hitters get a look at him.
Holmes has shown one side of himself early in games. In the first time a hitter faces him, the slash line is .187/.256/.280—numbers that can look downright promising. But the second time through the order is where the damage shows up. When a hitter sees Holmes again, the slash line jumps to .317/.391/.663.
That kind of split doesn’t leave room for wishful thinking once you see the matchup that way. When every hitter you’re facing turns into an MVP-level threat the second time through, the margin for error disappears.
If Holmes does indeed take the mound, Atlanta’s bullpen plan also starts to shape how the game plays out. With the Braves’ injury situation still affecting the options in front of them. it will be a major storyline early on whether Didier Fuentes is used in a long relief role. The Braves could potentially use Ritchie in that spot, but the Strider injury changes how that plan can form.
Against the Giants’ lineup, the picture on Holmes is lopsided in a different way: only four Giants hitters have faced Holmes before, and none of them have more than five at-bats. Rafael Devers leads that group with five at-bats and a .400 average in that small sample.
At the same time. the Braves get a rare kind of opening on the other side—because they’re set to face Adrian Houser while he’s in the midst of arguably the worst season of his career. Houser’s 5.54 ERA is the second worst of his career. His 1.538 WHIP is the worst of his career. The warning signs aren’t limited to one bad stretch; his expectancy stats are also pointing in the same direction. His xERA is 5.44, placing him in the bottom 13.0 percent of qualified pitchers.
The Braves don’t have to guess at what that means for matchup day. Pretty much every stat that matters sits in the bottom 13.0 percent or worse. The only thing Houser has going for him is a slightly above league average walk rate of 8.1 percent.
For Atlanta’s hitters, Houser is a known challenge, but not an equal one. Of the players on the Braves’ active roster. Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies have faced Houser the most—seventeen and sixteen at-bats respectively. Riley has hit .471 with a HR in that span. Albies has hit .375 with a .974 OPS. Michael Harris has a smaller sample with eight at-bats, but he’s also shown success there with a .375 average.
One of the most surprising parts for the Braves may be that Matt Olson has struggled in his eleven at-bats against Houser. In that stretch, Olson is hitting .182 with a .630 OPS.
The Braves are going to need more than one good matchup, though. Offensively, they could really use a boost—because they have only scored more runs than three other MLB teams in the month of June.
The game is set for Tuesday, June 16 at 7:15 p.m. EDT at Truist Park in Atlanta, Ga. Fans can follow coverage through BravesVision / Gray TV, with radio available on 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan.
In this one, Atlanta’s season is being tested in two places at once: whether Holmes can survive seeing hitters a second time, and whether Houser’s season-long struggles turn into runs early enough to matter.
Atlanta Braves San Francisco Giants Grant Holmes Adrian Houser Truist Park Drake Baldwin Didier Fuentes MLB