SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 26: Hurston Waldrep #64 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the San Francisco Giants in the fifth inning at Oracle Park on June 26, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Atlanta Braves are in position to win their first series since June twentieth as they take on the Cardinals in the finale this evening.
Hurston Waldrep is set to make his second appearance this season and his first start since late September last year. Waldrep was touching speeds upwards of ninety-nine MPH before he got injured in February where loose bodies were discovered in his elbow. Although Waldrep walked four hitters in two innings in his return, the front office has decided to give him the nod today.
If Waldrep can show what he did last season and Reynaldo López can pitch anywhere close to the way he did last night, the Braves are in much better position than they were just a few weeks ago.
Waldrep has never faced the Cardinals, and none of the players on their roster have faced him before either. With no history of matchups this is going to be fun to see the outcome.
Dustin May will be taking the mound tonight, and he is having as much of an up and down season as one could imagine. He currently holds an ERA of 4.30 over fifteen starts and 83.2 innings pitched. On the fifteenth of June, which was two starts ago he pitched a complete game shutout where he allowed one hit, zero walks, and struck out nine against the Padres. However, in his last start where he faced the Royals, he only lasted 2.0 innings where he gave up six hits to include two HRs, six earned runs, and a walk with two strikeouts. May has three starts where he gave up at least six runs and did not last more than four innings but also has seven starts where he gave up two or fewer runs.
May spent six seasons with the Dodgers so it makes sense that Mike Yastrzemski has faced him the most on the Braves. Yastrzemski has fourteen at-bats against him and has a .500 average and 1.206 OPS. It will be shocking if he does not get the start tonight. Kim has seen him eleven times, but let’s be honest, none of that matters with the way Kim is hitting. Outside of that, no one has faced May in more than eight at-bats and most of the Braves have struggled. Riley has a 2.000 OPS with 2 HRs in his five at-bats against May, and Smith has a HR in his three at-bats, but no other starter than the ones mentioned have an OPS above .400 in their small sample sizes.
This game will likely come down to what version we will see of Dustin May and if Hurston Waldrep can limit walks. A win this evening and a strong showing from Waldrep could go a long way to helping the Braves get back on the right track.
First pitch is at 7:15 EDT.
Game Info
Game Time: Thursday, July 2nd, 7:15 pm EDT
Location: Truist Park, , Atlanta, Ga
Watch: BravesVision
Radio/Audio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan