Former Chicago White Sox pitcher now enters Atlanta Braves history

The Atlanta Braves shut out the Philadelphia Phillies 6-0 on Sunday afternoon at Truist Park in Atlanta.

Jarred Kelenic, Adam Duvall, Eli White and Matt Olson each homered for Atlanta, and right-hander Reynaldo Lopez once again dominated on the mound.

Lopez, who was also named an All-Star on Sunday, pitched 6.0 innings, allowing no runs on two hits. He walked three and struck out six. With that stellar performance, he is now 7-2 on the season with a 1.71 ERA.

His success is undoubtedly frustrating for Chicago White Sox fans, who have seen years of inconsistent performances from Lopez. The 30-year-old pitched for the White Sox from 2017 until he was traded in 2023. He was both a starter and reliever for Chicago, going 33-44 on the South Side. He had four saves in 2023 before being traded to the Los Angeles Angels at the trade deadline. He signed with the Braves last offseason and is already on a short list in team history.

According to @StatsCentre:

Lowest ERA in first 16 starts of a season – Pitcher with franchise (since MLB scorecard tracking began in 1913):
1.57- Dick Rudolph (1919)
1.62- Greg Maddux (1998)
1.63- Maddux (1994)
1.64- Maddux (1995)
1.71- Reynaldo Lopez (2024)
1.71- Tom Glavine (2002)

It will be interesting to see if Lopez can keep that pace going into the second half of the year. He has already pitched 89.2 innings this season, which is the most pitches he has pitched since 2019 (184.0). If the Braves are concerned about his workload, they may want to skip starts or monitor his appearances in the second half.

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