Grant Holmes is pitching like he belongs. The Atlanta Braves just haven’t returned the favor. On Sunday, Holmes delivered yet another strong outing—six innings, two earned runs, a line any manager would take without hesitation. But the offense left him hanging again.
The Braves scratched out just one run in a 2-1 loss to the Orioles, dropping Holmes to 6-13 in games he’s started. The record isn’t pretty, but the story behind it? That’s a different picture.
A Starter the Braves Didn’t Expect
Holmes’ rise is one of the few feel-good surprises of Atlanta’s season. Drafted 22nd overall by the Dodgers back in 2014, he was once a high-upside arm in a class that included stars like Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Aaron Nola. But while those names took off, Holmes was stuck in the minors for ten seasons.
He finally got his big-league shot last year in relief. This season, thanks to injuries and chaos in the rotation, he got a crack at starting. And instead of being a placeholder, he’s become a rotation mainstay.
In his last 13 starts, Holmes owns a 3.04 ERA, and he’s now logged double-digit strikeouts in two of his last five outings—something he’d never done in any professional game before this year.
No Help From the Braves Bats
The Braves are just 3-10 in his last 13 starts. In seven of those, they’ve scored one run or fewer. You could have a prime Greg Maddux on the mound, and you’re still not winning those games. Holmes has done everything asked of him—often better than anyone expected—but his win-loss column reflects a team that’s simply not cashing in.
After Sunday’s game, Holmes took the loss in stride, as he has all season. “You go out there expecting to win, and sometimes it doesn’t go your way,” he said. “You know, it’s baseball, man.” That’s not resignation—it’s the voice of a guy who’s had to earn every inning he gets.
A Season of Missed Opportunities
Holmes is, in many ways, the embodiment of this Braves season: unexpected quality drowned out by inconsistency and missed chances. While the team has struggled to find footing, particularly with the rotation decimated by injuries, Holmes has quietly stabilized one of the most unstable spots on the roster.
That’s the cruel irony. Atlanta needed someone to step up. Holmes did. The bats didn’t.
Holmes Exceeds Braves’ Expectations
He may not be the name fans expected to carry the back end of the rotation, but Holmes has outperformed expectations, and at 29, he’s still carving out what might become a late-blooming success story.
The wins? They’ll come. Maybe not this year. Maybe not in this current version of the Braves offense. But if Holmes keeps pitching like this, he won’t be waiting another decade for things to break his way.
