Braves Pitcher Concludes First Half of Season Leading MLB in ERA After Return to Starting Role

SAN DIEGO — Reynaldo López allowed three earned runs for the first time since April and only the second time this season. Despite this, he still regained the MLB lead in ERA.

This highlights how consistently effective López has been on his way to his first All-Star appearance. Despite the Braves’ 4-0 loss to the Padres at Petco Park on Saturday, López has delivered significant value to the Braves.

“He’s exceeded all our expectations,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker.

The Braves signed the right-hander last offseason for $30 million over three years, offering him the chance to start again—a role he hadn’t consistently held since the COVID-shortened 2020 season with the White Sox.

For the Braves, it was a calculated risk. If the 30-year-old López didn’t succeed as a starter, he had proven himself as a reliable late-inning reliever. Even López was unsure how it would turn out. According to him, the only person who was confident he would successfully return to a starting role was his wife, Jhilaris.

“All I knew was that I was going to come in and compete, adjust to starting again, and fight,” López said through interpreter Franco García. “Fortunately, they had plans for me, and here we are.

“I never imagined being the ERA leader or making the All-Star Game. My wife deserves credit for always believing in me and insisting that I could be a starter again.”

López is more than happy to make a relief appearance in the All-Star Game presented by Mastercard on Tuesday in Arlington, even though it falls on a day when he would typically have a bullpen session between starts. Snitker has discussed with D-backs pitching coach Brent Strom the possibility of including López in the game, with Strom assisting NL manager Torey Lovullo.

“The timing works out perfectly,” López said.

That’s also reflected in the statistics. By pitching six innings against the Padres, López increased his season total to 95 2/3 innings. He has maintained his ERA lead despite occasionally falling below the threshold of one inning per team game. López’s 1.88 ERA is still the best in the league.

His ERA could have been even lower, but he lost a run due to a mistake covering first base on a hard grounder by Tyler Wade with two outs in the fifth inning. López thought the ball was going foul, but Wade reached base, stole second, and later scored on a double by Luis Arraez.

“That’s an error that can’t happen,” López said. “I should have covered first base and left the call to the umpire. It’s unacceptable.”

On Saturday, anything less than perfect was not enough due to the strong performance of López’s former White Sox teammate Dylan Cease, who held the Braves to a single infield hit and struck out 11 in six innings.

“He was hitting 100 [mph] in the sixth inning,” right fielder Adam Duvall said. “He had his best stuff. I’ve faced him before, and that’s probably the best I’ve seen him.”

The Braves couldn’t score against the bullpen either, despite a threat in the ninth inning, resulting in their fifth shutout in the past 36 games. They have hit just .228 as a team during that period.

For the 2024 Braves, the key has been strong starting pitching and protecting leads when they have them. Although they didn’t manage the second part of that formula on Saturday, another All-Star pitcher, Chris Sale, is set to take the mound on Sunday for the first-half finale.