Reynaldo López is giving the Braves something they have been missing for weeks: a starter who can attack hitters, miss bats, and finish innings. In only his second start since moving back from the bullpen, he worked five strong frames and helped Atlanta stay afloat in a difficult stretch.
Ozzie Albies supplied the early cushion with a first-inning RBI double and a third-inning solo homer, while López did the rest. He allowed one run and two hits, needed just 69 pitches to get through five innings, and looked much closer to the version that made him such an asset in 2024.
López’s fastball is trending the right way
The right-hander’s stuff stood out as much as his line score. His fastball averaged 95.1 mph, a notable jump from the 93.8 mph average he showed in San Francisco, and he generated 12 whiffs combined on his four-seamer and slider.
| Start | Fastball Velocity | Whiffs on Four-Seamer and Slider | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday in San Francisco | 93.8 mph | 2 | 1 run allowed in 3 innings |
| Latest outing | 95.1 mph | 12 | 1 run allowed in 5 innings |
The Cardinals barreled several balls early, including three at 99.6 mph or harder in the first inning. After that, they managed only one more ball at 88 mph or harder for the rest of López’s outing.
“You see the swings and misses as they are happening, so you just keep going with it,” López said through an interpreter. “It definitely helps confidence.”
A return that matters for Atlanta’s rotation
www.mlb.com noted that this outing came after López spent time in the bullpen following a difficult comeback from shoulder surgery. He had made just one start in 2025 before the injury-related interruption, and his struggles earlier in the season pushed the club to move him out of the rotation one month into the campaign.
Braves manager Walt Weiss said the outing looked familiar in the best way. “That looked like the 2024 Lópey,” Weiss said. “That’s what we were hoping for. We talked about him trending in a good direction. That was really good.”
Weiss also pointed to the broader picture, saying the club has been waiting for pitchers to get healthy and settle in. “When guys have missed a lot of time, it’s a process to get back to where they were,” he said. “Lopez basically didn’t pitch last year. But we loved the trends we were seeing, and then as his pitch count started to climb [as a reliever] he became a feasible option to start. And again, that looked like 2024 to me tonight.”
Why the timing is important
The Braves have won just five of their past 18 games, and their rotation has been hit by several setbacks. Bryce Elder has struggled badly, Spencer Strider is out with an elbow injury, and Grant Holmes has had trouble getting through five innings.
Elder will get an extended break as Atlanta skips his next turn, but the Braves still need him to stabilize over his next few outings. If López can keep building on this return, he could help offset some of those recent concerns and give the club a much-needed reliable starter.
That possibility matters even more with Hurston Waldrep lined up to start Thursday. Waldrep missed most of the season’s first three months while recovering from a February procedure that removed loose bodies from his right elbow, then walked four over two scoreless innings in relief in his season debut Friday.
Weiss said there are still encouraging signs ahead for the staff. “There were some good things on the horizon, even through this tough stretch,” he said. “You look down the road and there’s some nice pieces coming back. You add Lopey to that. Now, you start to dream big again and think about certainly playing better and getting on a roll again at some point.”
López even reached 96.7 mph in his final inning, further hinting that the command, velocity, and swing-and-miss ability that defined his best work may be returning at the right time for Atlanta.