The Atlanta Braves will send young Didier Fuentes to the mound for his third career start on Tuesday when they continue a nine-game homestand against the Los Angeles Angels.
The Angels lost two of three games in their weekend series against Washington but have won five of their last eight. The Braves lost two of three to Philadelphia over the weekend, dropped seven games below .500 and are eight games out of the playoff race.
The Braves have won two of three games against the Angels in each of the last three seasons.
Fuentes (0-2, 10.80), at age 20 the youngest player in the major leagues, will face veteran left-hander Tyler Anderson (2-5, 4.41).
The hard-throwing Fuentes has pitched to mixed results. He gave up four runs in five innings in his debut against Miami but was raked for six runs and two homers in a 3 1/3-inning stint against the New York Mets on Wednesday.
“It’s about command,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s not how hard you throw, it’s where you throw it. He’s a young kid that’s going to learn from every time he toes that thing, he’s going to learn something different.”
Fuentes needs to be a quick study since the Braves are in a bind for starters. Chris Sale is on the injured list with a rib cage fracture that could keep him out until after the All-Star Game and A.J. Smith-Shawver’s season is finished following Tommy John surgery on his right arm.
Barring a trade, the team’s only other options appear to be former major leaguer Ian Anderson (1-3, 6.10 ERA in Triple-A Gwinnett) or 2023 first-round pick Hurston Waldrep (6-6, 5.64 ERA in Gwinnett).
Tyler Anderson will make his 17th start of the season. He took a no-decision against Boston in his last start on Tuesday when he threw 4 2/3 innings and allowed one run on two hits, two walks and five strikeouts. His last victory came on April 18 and he has lost his last five decisions.
“Right now I feel like I’m pitching better than it shows — to me anyway,” Anderson said. “Staying in the strike zone. I’m making good — for the most part, good pitches. Not all of them, but you’re not going to be perfect 100 percent. But it just feels like everything right now is falling.”
He has made three career starts against Atlanta, going 1-1 with a 9.77 ERA. He last faced the Braves in 2021 while with Pittsburgh and was rocked for nine runs in five innings.
Atlanta’s Matt Olson had a pair of hits on Sunday and extended his streak of reaching base to 30 games.
Los Angeles’ Jo Adell has hit safely in a career-high 11 straight games. He hit 11 homers in June, tied with Juan Soto for the best in the majors.
The series was expected to be a homecoming of sorts of Angels manager Ron Washington, who was a popular figure in Atlanta from 2017-23 when he coached third base and tutored youngsters like Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley. But Washington stepped away from his position last week for an unspecified medical issue and will miss the rest of the season. Ray Montgomery is the interim manager.
–Field Level Media
