It’s hard to imagine that Reynaldo Lopez could have gotten off to a better start.
The starter turned reliever turned starter again has made four starts for the Braves after being acquired in the offseason.
Here is his stat line so far:
Starts: 4
Record: 2-0
Innings: 25
Hits: 14
Earned runs: 2
ERA: 0.72
Walks: 8
Strikeouts: 24
Lopez was in line to get the win Wednesday against the Marlins until a blown save turned into an extra-inning win.
According to the Braves, Lopez is the first pitcher to pitch at least six innings while allowing one run or fewer in four consecutive starts since Sean Newcomb did it in May of 2018. Lopez is also the second pitcher in franchise history with that criterion in his first four starts with the team. He joins Aaron Harang, who did it in five straight starts to start his Braves career in April of 2014.
Another interesting note to the start of the season is that the Braves have the best record in baseball at 17-6 with only Lopez as a regular starter with an ERA under 4.00. Chris Sale, Charlie Morton and Max Fried are over the 4.00 mark.
