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Atlanta Braves Lose Starting Pitcher After Short Return
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- Atlanta Braves Lose Starting Pitcher After Short Return
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The Atlanta Braves will unfortunately be without starting pitcher Reynaldo López once again after he informed the team of discomfort in his right shoulder that may have been the culprit behind his rough outing on Monday against the Chicago Cubs .
Atlanta suffered a 7-3 loss that night as López surrendered six hits and five earned runs in only three innings pitched. He also struggled in his first start back from a knee injury last Wednesday, giving up seven hits and six earned runs to the Tampa Bay Rays .
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With Monday's loss, López has now compiled a 4.54 ERA and 1.44 WHIP while striking out 73 batters through 79.1 innings of work.
As a result, the Braves are placing the 32-year-old on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation while recalling right-hander JR Ritchie from Triple-A Gwinnett as the corresponding transaction.
Also, reliever Joe Jiménez is slated to begin his rehabilitation assignment with Gwinnett following a left knee surgery that has kept him sidelined since October 2024.
This was not the first time López experienced problems with his shoulder as manager Walt Weiss noted that it's been an on and off issue this season.
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"He said he's had some good days and bad days throughout the year," Weiss told Mark Bowman of MLB.com. "Sometimes he hasn't felt it at all, and then sometimes he does. So we've got to change course here."
Additionally, he was limited to a single start last season before undergoing season-ending surgery in an attempt to rectify the issue, which unfortunately resurfaced.
While López could likely be back for the MLB playoffs, his regular season is now over and Weiss will have to turn to veteran left-hander Martín Pérez for Tuesday. Meanwhile, Ritchie is slated to toe the rubber in Wednesday's finale.
With the Braves having their sights set on winning their first World Series title since 2021, the loss of López certainly blows given their only consistent starter all season has been 10-year All-Star Chris Sale .
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Aware of that, Atlanta tried to address their rotation at the trade deadline with the acquisition of Tyler Mahle from the San Francisco Giants . Still, Bryce Elder 's recent arthroscopic knee surgery showed that the trade may not have been enough despite Mahle's improved 1.25 ERA since joining the organization.
Ritchie will most likely take over López's spot going forward while Owen Murphy and AJ Smith-Shawver could be in the mix as well. Ritchie has shown the most promise so far, fanning four batters during his most recent major-league outing on Aug. 2 against the NL East rival Washington Nationals .
Now, the Braves will turn their attention to evening the series tonight as Pérez takes the mound against Chicago right-hander Kevin Gausman .
