Atlanta Braves' Starter Does Something Not Done in Team History Since Hall of Famer Tom Glavine

We'd say that Reynaldo Lopez has turned out to be a pretty good signing for the Atlanta Braves.

Atlanta Braves pitcher Reynaldo Lopez (40) delivers in the fourth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 13. / Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves beat the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday as the historic season of Braves' pitcher Reynaldo Lopez continued.

The righty, who was signed this past offseason, went 6.0 innings and allowed just two hits. He walked one and struck out eight in running his impressive record to 4-2. He lowered his ERA to a microscopic 1.69 as he joined a Braves' Hall of Famer in team history.

Per @JayHayKid of the 'Baseball is Dead' podcast:

Reynaldo López now has a 1.69 ERA through just first 12 starts this season.

That’s the lowest ERA by a Braves pitcher through the first 12 starts of a season since Tom Glavine in 2002 (1.59).

Reynaldo López now has a 1.69 ERA through just first 12 starts this season.

That’s the lowest ERA by a Braves pitcher through the first 12 starts of a season since Tom Glavine in 2002 (1.59).

— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) June 13, 2024

When the Braves signed Lopez this past offseason and said they wanted to make him a starter, there were certainly some questions. He had only started one game since 2022 but the transition back to the rotation, where he served from 2016-2021, has been pretty seamless.

Lopez is in the ninth year of his career with the Washington Nationals, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Cleveland Guardians. He's 43-51 lifetime with a 4.07 ERA but he should be in great consideration for an All-Star berth this season.

His contributions in Atlanta have been even bigger considering the season-ending injuries to both Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuna Jr. The only question that remains for Lopez is if he can keep up this workload throughout the rest of the year. He has already worked 69.1 innings this year, which is his most since 2019.

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