López shaky, but Braves still need him to shoulder load

ATLANTA -- Reynaldo López isn’t likely going to win an ERA title, even if he doesn’t allow another earned run over the remainder of the season. He might not be guaranteed an All-Star bid with the sparkling 1.83 ERA he has produced through 15 starts.

But López has a chance to be a postseason asset if the Braves continue to wisely pace him through the remainder of his first full season as a starter since 2019.

Still, even after López seemed to show some signs of fatigue in a 5-3 loss to the Giants on Tuesday night at Truist Park, Braves manager Brian Snitker confirmed the veteran right-hander will not get an extra day before his next start. Instead, he’ll start Sunday’s series finale against the Phillies.

“They’re going to have to [pitch on regular rest],” Snitker said. “We’ve [provided an extra day] more than we thought we were going to leaving Spring Training and it’s worked pretty well. But it’s just not a perfect thing, where they’re not going to have to pitch on [regular rest] sometimes.”

When López faces the Phillies on Sunday, he’ll be starting on regular rest for just the second time this season. The previous occasion, he lasted just 4 2/3 innings against the Pirates on May 25. That had been his shortest outing of the season before Tuesday, when he surrendered four hits, issued four walks and allowed two runs over a season-low 4 1/3 innings.

“Any pitcher has one of those days where you’re just not feeling it,” López said through a translator. “I wouldn’t say it’s fatigue. I felt great today. I just don’t think I had it. It’s frustrating for sure.”

Snitker acknowledged that this weekend’s division showdown is one of the reasons the Braves decided to start López on Sunday. The Braves are nine games behind the Phillies in the National League East. To win a seventh straight division crown, Atlanta may need to have its pitchers regularly start on regular rest. This could prove detrimental if the starters are out of gas by the time the postseason arrives.

López hasn’t thrown more than 66 innings either of the past two years. Chris Sale has spent most of the past four seasons on the injured list. Charlie Morton is 40. There are plenty of reasons for the Braves to continue giving all of their starters extra rest by utilizing a six-man rotation.

Even with Tuesday’s outing, López still has a 2.30 ERA in the six starts he has made with one extra day of rest. He has a 1.32 ERA in the eight starts he has made with more than an extra day of rest.

Ensuring extra rest during long stretches on the schedule usually requires using a six-man rotation, which erases one available bullpen arm. Bryce Elder would be on regular rest if he were brought up to start Sunday. But because he was optioned less than 15 days before this date, he could only be recalled to replace a player on the injured list.

So, the Braves will go with López, who believes he just had one of those nights during this series opener against the Giants. The righty went to a three-ball count against 10 of the 21 batters he faced, including LaMonte Wade Jr., who teamed up with Jorge Soler to open the fifth with back-to-back homers.

“I’m feeling really good right now,” López said. “I think the way we structured the days off was really intelligent.”

Lopez has completed 83 2/3 innings through the Braves’ first 83 games. He currently ranks at the top of MLB’s ERA standings. But to remain qualified, a pitcher must have completed one inning per game played by their team. So, he won’t qualify by the time Atlanta completes its next game.

Some might argue that his lighter workload has made him less deserving of an All-Star selection than top starters who have handled a more regular workload thus far. Safe to say this isn’t a popular opinion in the Braves clubhouse.

What would an All-Star selection mean, and how beneficial might the All-Star break be for López?

“It would be a really nice experience to be selected to the All-Star team, but in the same breath, I think it would be really beneficial to have a few days off,” López said. “But if I had to choose between one or the other, I’d pick the first.”