Braves make $5M pitching announcement for crucial NL East series against scorching Phillies

The Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies are one day away from beginning a very important series that could have major implications for the NL East. Both teams remain in position to win the division, making this matchup even more significant.

The Phillies enter the series playing some of their best baseball of the season after going 21-7 in August and winning six straight games. The Braves, meanwhile, took care of business against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday. The original pitching matchups for the series looked like this:

“Then to kick things off on Friday night in Philadelphia, it will be a great battle between Chris Sale and Cristopher Sanchez. Following the opener, the Phillies will then have Zack Wheeler taking on Martin Perez. In the third game of the series on Sunday afternoon, the red-hot Aaron Nola will be facing off against Tyler Mahle. On Labor Day, it will be Jesus Luzardo taking on Bryce Elder,” SI’s Nick Ziegler wrote.

However, the Braves will be making a change to their pitching plans. Atlanta will now start Grant Holmes on Monday after he threw only three innings Wednesday because of a rain delay.

“Grant Holmes will now start for the Braves on Monday,” Braves reporter Mark Bowman wrote.

This is a strong decision for the Braves, especially after Bryce Elder struggled against the San Francisco Giants on Monday. Holmes, meanwhile, is coming off an extremely efficient outing against the Nationals.

“Holmes didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 9-0 win over the Nationals, striking out one batter over three perfect innings. A nearly 90-minute rain delay ended any chance Holmes might have had of making history, but the right-hander faced the minimum number of batters on just 26 pitches (16 strikes) before the umpires shut things down,” CBS Sports wrote.

Starting Holmes appears to be the smarter decision, as he has been the more consistent option lately. Elder has been much more up and down, and that is not what Atlanta needs during what could be the most important series of its season.

Holmes has made $5 million during his career with the Braves. For Atlanta, simply splitting the series could be nearly as valuable as winning it outright because a split would prevent Philadelphia from gaining any ground in the division race.

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