Braves Rotation Starting Off Post-Deadline Stretch on Right Foot

Two games won't create a trend. But if the Atlanta Braves' starting rotation is looking to make a statement after the trade deadline, they're getting the ball rolling on doing so.

Grant Holmes and Bryce Elder have comebined for 13 innings of one-run ball and have each claimed a win. The latter held the Miami Marlins hitless through 4 1/3 innings.

Holmes said after his start on Tuesday night that whether the noise about the Braves needing a starter provided motivation was a yes-and-no answer. The group knows what they're capable of; they want to show, but he tries not to use that type of motivation for his outings.

"Sometimes, it gets you in trouble," he said. "Trying to do too much. You go out there - I feel like it happened the last few starts, trying to do too much instead of just letting my stuff work."

The Braves received a lot of flak following the lack of acquiring what has been described as an impact starting pitcher before the trade deadline. As options went off the board leading up to the deadline, there were some rumors and reports, but none that became official.

To be clear, the Braves still walked away with a new starting pitcher for the rotation. They added Tyler Mahle from the San Francisco Giants. It was an addition that likely would have received more fanfare had it complemented a bigger addition. He's now on his own in having to prove he is the right addition.

However, if he shows up as Holmes and Elder have out of the gate since Monday, some rapport will start to be built. With each start, the confidence in what this group can do will start to build.

Previously, Atlanta Braves on SI has labeled Mahle as a safety net. Regardless of who the team got, they needed another rotation arm who can give this team innings. Missing a month isn't something that builds confidence that he can do that, but he'll get the chance.

This is the optimistic way to look at the situation. After two good games, it's appropriate to show some optimism that this can be fine. It also helps that they've won seven games in a row and built their lead in the division back to eight and a half games.

To look at the flip side for just a moment, it's important to remember that this goodwill can go away much faster than it builds up. This group can spend all of the next two months consistently building it up, and one game goes wrong in the playoffs, and it can all come crashing down.

For that reason alone, tracking how the lack of action at the deadline is a long game. There is no final conclusion until the end of the season.

"We still have two months. There's a long way to go," general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. "Like, I said, there's going to be injuries. The next two months for everybody - You still have an eye on - should you be fortunate to get to the postseason. You're still weighing all of those things, and you're looking at all of those things.

Fortunately for the Braves, while Anthopoulos chose to play it safe with his wording, the issue isn't whether they'll make the playoffs, even if a few weeks in the middle of the season went haywire.

This is about how this rotation will fare leading up to it and how they'll perform on that biggest stage. The path to that big stage has seen some great first couple of steps. Time to see how the rest plays out.

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