Fastball

Atlanta Braves Offseason Acquisition Closes Out Regular Season on Historic Note

What a first year in Atlanta it's been for starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez.

Brady Farkas

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez (40) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park on Sept 10.
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez (40) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park on Sept 10. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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The Atlanta Braves beat the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night by a score of 2-1. With the win, the Braves are 88-71 on the season and they can clinch a wild card berth as early as Sunday.

In that win, starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez was brilliant. In his first start off the injured list, he went six innings and allowed just one run on two hits. He walked none and struck out nine, capping a brilliant first regular season in Atlanta.

Signed to a three-year deal last offseason, Lopez went 8-5 through 25 starts. He struck out 146 batters in 134.2 innings and posted a historic ERA of 2.00.

Per @StatsCentre on social media:

Lowest ERA in a season (minimum 130 IP) - @Braves franchise history (1876-present):
1.56- Greg Maddux (1994)
1.57- Kris Medlen (2012)
1.63- Maddux (1995)
1.87- Phil Niekro (1967)
1.90- Bill James (1914)
1.96- Tommy Bond (1879)
2.00- Reynaldo Lopez (2024)
2.02- Lefty Tyler (1916)

After serving as a reliever primarily since 2021, Lopez had no problem converting to a starter's role in Atlanta. He's been absolutely huge for the Braves, pairing with Chris Sale to help offset the loss of Cy Young candidate Spencer Strider, who is out for the year with injury.

The 30-year-old Lopez is in his ninth major league season with the Washington Nationals, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Cleveland Guardians and Braves. He's gone 47-54 with a 3.93 ERA.

The Braves and Royals will play again on Sunday afternoon at 3:10 p.m. ET. Once those games are done, a determination will be set on the status for the Braves-Mets games on Monday.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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