It’s hard to imagine a better pitching performance for the Atlanta Braves on Friday.
After right-hander Ian Anderson recorded three shutout innings, fellow righty Grant Holmes turned in three scoreless frames. Both pitchers didn’t give up a hit.
The Atlanta pitching staff didn’t allow a hit against the Miami Marlins until the eighth inning. Relievers Domingo Gonzalez and Rolddy Munoz each gave up a run on three total hits in the final two frames.
The Braves still more than held on to win 7-2.
Holmes posted a pair of 1-2-3 innings to begin his outing Friday. In those two frames, Holmes registered two ground outs, two fly outs, a line out and a strikeout.
In his third inning, Holmes worked around a pair of walks to preserve the Braves shutout at the time. He struck out two batters in the inning to finish with three.
Baseball scout Lance Brozdowski speculated that Holmes was experimenting with his change-up. Holmes also threw several impressive breaking balls during the outing.
Holmes finished the afternoon with 29 strikes on 49 pitches.
Anderson and Holmes are each competing for one of the depth starter roles in the Atlanta rotation this spring. Both improved their stock in the competition with their pitching performances Friday.
Anderson walked two batters but didn’t yield a hit in the first three innings of the game.
Chris Sale, Reynaldo López and Spencer Schwellenbach are set to be the top three starters in the Braves rotation to begin the regular season. Spencer Strider will return at some point early in the season to join those three in the rotation.
Until then, Anderson and Holmes could start. If they both do well, they could continue to see regular starting opportunities on the mound for Atlanta.
Last season, the Braves often utilized a six-man rotation.
Bryce Elder and A.J. Smith-Shawver are also competing for a starting rotation spot to begin the season. Elder allowed two runs in 2.2 innings during his first Spring Training start Thursday.