This weekend’s Braves games, which resulted in two much-needed and convincing wins over the Mets, were largely overshadowed by the fact that Reynaldo Lopez left Sunday’s game after just three innings with forearm tightness. He headed back to Atlanta for an MRI, and today, Braves fans anxiously awaited the results.
Thankfully, ahead of tonight’s contest with the Milwaukee Brewers, Brian Snitker delivered the good news. The MRI came back clean, Reynaldo Lopez has not yet been placed on the IL, and Snitker even said he might be able to make his next start without any setbacks.
Reynaldo López’s MRI was clean. He’s day to day. The Braves haven’t even put him on the IL. Brian Snitker said he doesn’t believe the Braves would even shut him down.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) July 29, 2024
https://twitter.com/mlbbowman/status/1818046789641294252
Considering how this season has gone for the Braves on the injury front, this is a breath of fresh air. Even with Spencer Strider down for the season, the Braves pitching staff has carried the team through the first four months. It very well might be the best group of arms in baseball from top to bottom, and the Braves will have to lean on them down the stretch and into the postseason if they want any chance of making a deep playoff run.
A big part of the staff’s success has been Reynaldo Lopez. His transition from the bullpen to the rotation has gone better than anybody could have imagined. He’s fresh off his first appearance in the All-Star Game and leads all starting pitchers with a 2.06 ERA. Losing Lopez would have been detrimental to the Braves chances. Now, Alex Anthopoulos can focus wholly on fixing the Braves offense as the trade deadline approaches tomorrow evening.
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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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