SEATTLE — The Braves will send Martín Pérez to the mound Wednesday for the series finale against the Mariners.
Braves manager said before Tuesday’s game that if Pérez did not pitch out of the bullpen Tuesday — which he did not — then he would be the team’s starter for the afternoon game at T-Mobile Park.
“All things being equal, we like a left-handed starter against these guys, and that’s the reason for that,” Weiss said. “And there are other reasons, right? We’re still trying to keep Martín as a factor. He’s been in that hybrid role, and he’s done a nice job as a starter. Trying to keep him stretched out.
“At the same time, trying to protect the other guys, give ‘em extra days, monitor the workload. We got a lot of guys coming off limited innings a year ago, so this is another way to monitor that workload and the innings load. Kind of multitasking here. But the fact of the matter is, Martín has it’s done a really nice job for us, and we want to keep him as an option.”
Pérez has not pitched since April 28 at Truist Park when he threw five scoreless innings against the Tigers in a 4-2 Braves’ win. The veteran lefty is 2-1 with a 2.22 ERA over four starts and six appearances.
Pérez’s start Wednesday will bump Grant Holmes out of his normal turn in the rotation. Chris Sale would be on the docket to open a three-game series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Friday followed by Spencer Strider on Saturday and rookie JR Ritchie on Sunday.
“Well, this has all been fluid. I mean, it’s literally everyday things have been changing,” Weiss said. “I mean, we put it on (Pérez’s) radar just a couple days ago, really. Of course, I talked to Grant (Tuesday) and we discussed the whole scenario. And Grant’s gonna continue to start. We’ll get through this series, we have the off day before L.A. and then we’ll revisit the rotation going into that series and beyond. It’s kind of been that way for a while now. We want to keep Martín as an option moving forward.
Weiss added: “Grant’s gonna get a start, it’s just a matter of when.”
Holmes is 2-1 with a 4.34 ERA over seven starts this season. His last time out, Friday against the Rockies at Coors Field, Holmes allowed six earned runs before recording an out but battling through five innings in a game the Braves eventually won 8-6.
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