The Arizona Diamondbacks and Atlanta Braves enter their four-game series, beginning Thursday night in Phoenix, on a high note.
The Diamondbacks completed a three-game sweep of Detroit with a 1-0 victory Wednesday, when Zac Gallen threw six scoreless innings and Corbin Carroll in the first inning became only the sixth left-handed hitter to homer off Tarik Skubal in Skubal’s six-year career.
The Braves had a similar pitching experience. Chris Sale won his second game of the season in a 5-1 decision over the Athletics on Wednesday. The Braves took two of three games from the A’s.
Atlanta right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (0-0, 1.50 ERA) is scheduled to face Arizona right-hander Ryne Nelson (0-0, 7.71) in the series opener.
The Braves’ rotation had been a concern, due in part to injuries to Spencer Strider (oblique) and Spencer Schwellenbach (elbow), but it has been a strength. Atlanta starters are 3-2 with a 2.48 ERA and have allowed nine runs in 32 2/3 innings this season.
Sale has given up one run over 12 innings in two quality starts, and he struck out three in beating the A’s early Wednesday before the Braves made the long flight to Phoenix for their first road trip of the season.
Lopez enters after a quality start in his first outing, when he gave up three hits and a one run — a solo homer — in six innings of a no-decision in a 6-2 victory over Kansas City on Saturday.
Concerns about his velocity were allayed when he touched 97 mph against the Royals after topping out in the low 90s in spring training. He made only one start in 2025 before being diagnosed with a season-ending shoulder injury.
“To be able to throw pain-free is a real blessing,” Lopez said through an interpreter. “I think of just how long it’s been since I’ve actually been able to throw that way. It’s big. It’s a game-changer to be able to throw like that.
“People are looking at certain numbers, velo (velocity) and whatever, and I know they didn’t look great in spring training. I think that’s fair, but to me, it was about being healthy.”
The other side of the Atlanta battery is off to a strong start, too.
Catcher Drake Baldwin drove in four runs with a two-run single and a two-run double against the A’s on Wednesday, when he also came within inches of his fourth homer in six games. A’s outfielder Denzel Clarke reached over the fence to take away a potential homer in the seventh.
Lopez, who revitalized his career by going 8-5 with a 1.99 ERA after joining the Atlanta rotation in 2024, is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in two career relief appearances against Arizona.
In his first start of the season, Nelson gave up two walks and two homers in a four-run third inning. He didn’t figure into the decision in a 5-4 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers. He allowed only one other runner before leaving with two outs in the fifth.
The big blow was Mookie Betts’ three-run homer after a pair of one-out walks in third.
“Homers are going to happen, but the walks in front of them are usually the decider of how it ends up going,” Nelson said. “You have to put guys away when you get two strikes and not let the count get deep.
“I made some pitches I liked, but they didn’t bite on them. I was executing and attacking; just sometimes you have an unfortunate situation.”
Nelson is 1-2 with a 4.32 ERA in three career starts against Atlanta.
–Field Level Media
