Grant Holmes and Jake Irvin are set to face each other for the second time this season on Thursday, July 30, when the Braves return home to meet the Washington Nationals at 7:15 pm EDT. It is a rematch with real weight for both sides, because the Nationals lead all teams in runs scored for the season while the Braves have scored the sixth most.
That gap is not as wide in July. The Nationals still lead the month, but the Braves have scored only three fewer runs, which helps explain why this game is drawing attention now. Holmes is scheduled to start for the Braves after working 5.0 innings against Washington in May, when he struck out ten but allowed two earned runs on six hits and two walks in a 0-2 loss. Dylan Crews supplied the only damage Atlanta could not answer, homering off Holmes in that game.
The Braves are back home after a series with the Mets, and the matchup lands at a time when both lineups have been productive. That makes the pitching side even more important, especially with Holmes and Jake Irvin meeting again so soon after their first showdown. Holmes has been described as sharp the first time through a lineup and far less effective the second time through, which is one reason his opening turns matter so much in games like this.
Irvin is scheduled to pitch for the Nationals, and his recent line gives Atlanta a reason to test him early. He held the Braves to one hit while striking out seven in 5.0 innings in the last game he pitched at the MLB level, but he has not pitched since May and has not gone more than 5.2 innings in any appearance this season. That leaves Washington leaning on a Nationals bullpen with the third worst ERA in MLB at 5.03, a number that hangs over any lead it tries to protect.
There is also a split in the Braves’ favor in the matchup history that may matter if the game stays close. Michael Harris has faced Irvin twenty-two times and has a.318 average against him, while Matt Olson has an.812 OPS in nineteen at-bats and Ozzie Albies has faced him fifteen times with a.435 OPS. Holmes and Irvin have each shown they can win a short stretch against these lineups; the question is whether either starter can carry that edge long enough to keep the game out of the bullpen.
Thursday night’s first pitch comes at 7:15 pm EDT, and the shape of the game is already clear: Atlanta will try to turn a strong month at the plate into a clean start from Holmes, while Washington will ask Irvin to survive long enough for its offense and bullpen to hold up. The outcome may hinge on which starter can go deeper before the numbers behind him start to take over.
