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Braves' Chris Sale: Comes up short in pitchers' duel
Rotowire
Sale (12-9) took the loss Friday, allowing two runs on eight hits over six innings as Atlanta was downed 2-1 by the Brewers. He struck out six without walking a batter.
Matched up against Jacob Misiorowski in a battle of NL Cy Young contenders, Sale delivered his 16th quality start of the season on 94 pitches (68 strikes), but the veteran southpaw didn't get enough offensive support to avoid the loss. Sale has reeled off six straight quality starts since the All-Star break, posting a 2.19 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and stunning 49:3 K:BB in 37 innings over that stretch. Despite those impressive numbers, he'll look to snap a three-start losing streak in his next outing, which lines up to come at home next weekend against the Rockies.
Jarvis is not in the lineup for Friday's game in Milwaukee.
Jarvis' playing time has been uneven lately, as this will be his third time on the bench in the last four contests, and two of them have come versus righties. The rookie infielder is just 3-for-35 at the plate in August, and Mauricio Dubon might be the preferred option at shortstop moving forward if Jarvis is unable to right the ship.
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Braves' Reynaldo Lopez: Cleared for rehab games
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Lopez (knee) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Lopez is working his way back from left knee inflammation, which has kept him out for all of August. The veteran right-hander's last six appearances for Atlanta were as a starting pitcher, but he could be used as a reliever upon his return. If that happens, it might shorten his rehab assignment.
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Braves' Mauricio Dubon: Bangs out three hits Thursday
Rotowire
Dubon went 3-for-4 with a run scored in Thursday's win over the White Sox.
Getting the start at shortstop and batting seventh, Dubon kept the line moving on a night when the bottom of the order did most of the work for the Atlanta offense. It was the veteran utility player's first multi-hit performance since a four-hit effort Aug. 6, and over 54 plate appearances on the month he's produced a .294/.315/.333 slash line with two doubles, three steals, five runs and six RBI.
Iglesias earned the save in Thursday's 2-0 win over the White Sox, striking out two in a perfect ninth inning.
Iglesias was summoned to protect a two-run lead in the ninth inning and did so on 12 pitches. The 36-year-old has posted a 7.04 ERA through eight appearances in what has been a shaky August, but he's still converted three of four save chances. On the year, he's 26-for-29 in save opportunities to go along with a 3.09 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 51:14 K:BB across 46.2 innings.
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Braves' Grant Holmes: Rebounds in win
Rotowire
Holmes (8-5) earned the win against the White Sox on Thursday, allowing one hit and three walks while striking out three over six scoreless innings.
Holmes carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, throwing 55 of 94 pitches for strikes with a whopping 16 whiffs. The 30-year-old got hammered for six runs Saturday, but he's posted three scoreless quality starts in his other August outings. He'll carry a 3.64 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 100:54 K:BB across 123.2 innings this season into a home matchup with the Dodgers next week.
Braves' AJ Smith-Shawver: Rough return to rotation
Rotowire
Smith-Shawver didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 6-4 loss to the Twins, giving up four runs on five hits and three walks over 4.1 innings. He struck out three.
Making just his second big-league appearance of the season, Smith-Shawver retired the first seven batters he faced before the wheels began to come off in the third inning, as four straight Minnesota hitters reached base before the right-hander coaxed a double play out of Josh Bell to escape the jam. Smith-Shawver wasn't so lucky in the fifth, getting the hook after 75 pitches (49 strikes) following a bases-loaded walk to Bell. Atlanta has indicated the 23-year-old will remain in the rotation for now as part of a six-man unit -- the team is in the middle of a three-week stretch with just one scheduled off day that takes them to Sept. 3 -- but he'll need to perform better to keep his spot. Smith-Shawver is set to make his next trip to the mound at home next week against the Dodgers.
Braves' Mauricio Dubon: Sitting for second time in four games
Rotowire
Dubon is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.
Atlanta appears to have five players -- Dubon, Dominic Smith, Jim Jarvis, Mike Yastrzemski and Sean Murphy -- vying for three spots in the lineup against right-handed pitching for any given game. Dubon and Murphy will end up being the odd men out Wednesday, and the former player has now sat twice in Atlanta's last four games.
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Braves' Drake Baldwin: Snaps homer drought
Rotowire
Baldwin went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Twins.
Baldwin accounted for Atlanta's only run of the contest, taking Zebby Matthews deep for a solo homer in the sixth inning. The blast snapped a 22-game homer drought and gave the sophomore catcher 21 long balls on the season. Baldwin has still been productive recently, reaching safely in eight consecutive games while batting .375 with a .974 OPS during that stretch. Through 103 contests this season, he's slashing .278/.361/.459 with 21 homers, 10 doubles, 63 RBI, 68 runs scored and three stolen bases.
Braves' Tyler Mahle: Takes loss despite quality start
Rotowire
Mahle (4-10) took the loss Tuesday against the Twins, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk while striking out three over 6.2 innings.
Mahle allowed a two-out double in the first inning before Josh Bell launched a two-run homer to open the scoring. The right-hander settled in nicely from there as he didn't surrender another run, recording 17 outs against the final 19 batters he faced. Unfortunately for Mahle, Atlanta provided just one run of support, saddling him with his 10th loss. He's delivered a quality start in each of his three outings since joining the team, allowing only three runs across 18.2 innings while striking out 19 during that span. Mahle owns a 4.53 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 108:40 K:BB across 113.1 innings this season. He will face a tougher test in his next scheduled start against the star-studded Dodgers.
Braves' AJ Smith-Shawver: Expected to stick in rotation
Rotowire
Smith-Shawver is expected to remain in the Atlanta rotation beyond Wednesday's start against Minnesota, Gabe Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Smith-Shawver has been limited to one major-league start so far this season, as he missed extended time at the start of the campaign while completing his recovery from Tommy John surgery. However, he will return to a big-league mound Wednesday, and Atlanta will move to a six-man rotation for the time being to accommodate the 23-year-old right-hander. Smith-Shawver had been pitching brilliantly for Triple-A prior to his promotion Tuesday, allowing just two earned runs with a 23:6 K:BB over his last 19.1 innings spanning four starts for Gwinnett.
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Braves' Chuckie Robinson: Finds work in Atlanta organization
Rotowire
Robinson signed a minor-league contract with Atlanta on Tuesday.
He'll report to Triple-Gwinnett and will enter the lineup right away, as he's slated to start at catcher and bat eighth in Tuesday's game against Durham. Robinson was cut loose by the Dodgers last week after he played in eight games at the big-league level, reaching base just twice in 26 plate appearances.
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