Braves vs. Padres preview: Atlanta looks to clinch series in Reylando Lopez’s final start before All-Star break

With the Braves coming off a solid Game 1 win, they will look to secure the series victory in San Diego behind Reynaldo Lopez in a primetime game on FOX.

Lopez has probably been closer to “good enough” than All-Star level this season, but even that is still pretty valuable and much better than anyone expected when he was signed and announced as a starter. His ERA has been a spectacular 1.71 so far, with his FIP, xFIP, and xERA sitting around 3.1-4.2, which is still pretty useful. The walks seem to have increased recently, which will be something to watch as he gets deeper into the season as a starter, something he hasn’t done in recent years. He’s had a lot of success with his slider, which he’s located well and added depth to this season. This isn’t the mirage of a Bryce Elder-level All-Star, so while some regression is expected, he’ll hopefully regress more toward a mid-rotation arm than the really rough second half we saw from Elder last year.

On the other side, the Padres will send Dylan Cease to the mound. Cease has been a big topic of the offseason and at one point was considered a major target for the Braves, but the Padres pulled off another major trade under A.J. Preller. Cease has been the polar opposite of Reynaldo this season, as he has a similar FIP to Lopez and better xFIP and xERA numbers, but he has been unfortunate in that his ERA is significantly higher than his peripherals. They have been roughly similar level pitchers this season overall, with perhaps a slight nod to Cease, but have had very different results when it comes to run prevention. Like Lopez, he is primarily a two-pitch pitcher, using his four-seamer and slider about 90% of the time. Cease’s slider is a fantastic pitch and has been very effective, but his fastball has been absolutely hammered this season, even though it produced fewer bad results last season. He’ll occasionally mix in the seam curve, which is also pretty easy to hit. Braves hitters should really look to do some damage with the fastball, but watch out for that nasty slider.

Marcell Ozuna already set Atlanta’s record for RBIs before the All-Star break, so let’s see how many more he can add in these final two games. That’s pretty incredible, considering the Braves have been a league-average team in terms of runs scored this season.

Game Information

Game date/time: Saturday, July 12, 7:15 p.m. ET

Location: Petco Park, San Diego, California

TV: FOX

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM