Braves Make Decision on Starting Rotation for Giants Series

The Atlanta Braves will bring a familiar right-hander back into the rotation after a series of moves on Wednesday

López will be back in the rotation for the first time in a few months | Mady Mertens-Imagn Images

A familiar face is back in the Atlanta Braves starting rotation. Reynaldo López is penciled in as the starting pitcher for Friday's series opener against the San Francisco Giants.

The decision comes after JR Ritchie was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett earlier on Wednesday. It will mark his first start since April 21 when he allowed four earned runs across and inning-plus in Washington against the Nationals.

He's been in the bullpen ironing things out ever since. As a reliever, he's pitched to a 3.27 ERA with a 1.31 WHIP across 22 innings pitched.

When he last took the mound on June 21 against the Milwaukee Brewers, he tossed three innings and threw 58 pitches. It was the most he's thrown in an outing since his last start. It's unlikely he can give the Braves a starters workload, but getting a time or two through the order should be doable depending on how efficient he is.

The Braves made the move to add fresh arms to the bullpen. Tyler Kinley has been activated off the injured list, and Ian Hamilton has been selected to the major league roster. Combined with the off day on Thursday, that should help them navigate the missing innings.

Monday is also an off day. That will also take some of the pressure of for preparing for the upcoming homestand.

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