Walt Weiss Explains Cautiously Pulling Grant Holmes in Braves Loss

What began as a tight contest between the Atlanta Braves and the Miami Marlins on Monday quickly unraveled in the middle innings. It stemmed from the decision by manager Walt Weiss to lift starter Grant Holmes after four frames.

Despite a chaotic top of the fourth inning, Holmes’ pitch count still sat at 59 pitches. If he was able to settle back in, he may have had another couple of innings left in the tank. However, Weiss opted to hand the game over to the bullpen, and the game got away from them from there on.

Aaron Bummer and Rolddy Muñoz both allowed three earned runs each. Designated hitter Augusîin Ramírez got the best of both of them. Four of the seven runs that scored after Holmes was pulled were driven in by him.

Muñoz allowed a solo home run on the first pitch he threw in the game. Connor Norby smacked a rocket out to left field that set the tone for the inning. Jose Suarez allowed an earned run in two innings of relief.

Weiss made the reasoning behind his decision known quickly after the game. The goal was to protect Holmes’ health. He threw 99 pitches in his previous start, so Weiss wanted to balance things out.

“I knew I was gonna have a shorter leash with him tonight,” Weiss said. “Not necessarily that short, but because of the last outing, that had as much to do with it as anything.”

He assured that Holmes’ elbow was fine. It was being proactive to make sure they don’t overuse a starter who has just finished rehabbing a partially torn UCL. Weiss felt that with the game tied, he could pounce on a favorable matchup and roll from there. Once the game got away again, he opted not to bring out Dylan Lee, Robert Suarez or Raisel Iglesias.

Had the game remained close, he would have turned to the back end of the bullpen to keep them in the game.

Holmes said he understood the decision to go to the bullpen. He wasn’t exactly happy with his performance, but he felt better knowing that this was part of a plan.

“Being the guy I am, it’s still frustrating, but he explained everything to me. I respect the decision,” he said. ‘You know, it is what it is, you know? Like I told him, you don’t know until you try something. So, it could have gone really well and, you know, it could have gone really bad. But that’s all part of it.”

The Braves right-hander has been effective, posting a 3.32 ERA across four starts. He threw at least 76 pitches and at least five innings in each start heading into Monday night. It can be presumed for now that Holmes' leash will be longer the next time around. How often this could be the plan for him is unclear.

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