After two absolutely electric series against the NL’s top teams, the Braves are getting a major break in competition, facing off against the Rockies. They already took care of business on Friday night, riding Grant Holmes to a win. Now the Braves are hoping for another victory today, with Martin Perez taking the mound in what looks like a favorable pitching matchup for Atlanta, despite Perez’s own unspectacular numbers.
Perez is Playing with Fire, But It’s Working
Look, Martin Perez has somehow posted a 3.12 ERA through 115.1 innings this season, and it’s late August! But get this: his more predictive metrics are hanging out in the low to mid 4s. That’s a pretty big gap. His strikeout and walk rates are pretty similar to what Ryan Feltner is throwing out there for the Rockies, and his location heatmap for both his sinker and cutter? Basically scattered all over the strike zone. It really has been a fortunate run for Martin and the Braves when it comes to run prevention in those productive innings. He’s muddled through with some substantial luck, but hey, if it ain’t broke, right? The Rockies are bad enough that this lucky streak just might keep going for another day.
Ryan Feltner’s Profile Screams “Hit Me Hard”
On the other side of the ball, the Rockies are trotting out Ryan Feltner, and his numbers are not looking good. We’re talking a 5.53 FIP and a 4.98 xFIP over 97.2 innings this season. Feltner has never been a strikeout pitcher, but he does find some success when he can actually limit walks. The problem? He’s walking nearly four batters per nine innings this year, and with less than two strikeouts per walk, it’s been a rough go. His changeup is his best pitch, a very vertical offering without much horizontal run, which is decent. But his fastball has average velocity with below average shape, and his slider, while thrown hard, has just fine movement. He mixes in a solid sweeper, a curve, and a sinker to round out his arsenal, but based on his overall profile, the Braves’ bats absolutely need to tee off on this guy. He doesn’t strike people out, his command isn’t great, and his ground ball rate is nothing special.
The Braves are at Truist Park in Atlanta today, Saturday, August 29, with first pitch at 4:10 p.m. ET. Let’s see if Atlanta’s bats can actually get Martin Perez some much-needed run support and make sure that fortune holds up against a struggling Rockies team.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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