Braves lose, waste Holmes' 15-strikeout effort

ATLANTA -- Grant Holmes said helium believed helium was connected the verge of a crippled to retrieve erstwhile the Atlanta right-hander reached 10 strikeouts for the archetypal clip successful his vocation -- and it was lone the 5th inning.

"It was a peculiar moment," Holmes said.

It was hard for the Braves to explicate however Holmes' milestone game, which started with 5 hitless innings and ended with a career-best 15 strikeouts, was wasted successful Sunday's 10-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies.

Holmes (3-6) did not springiness up a deed oregon a locomotion done 5 innings but trailed 1-0 acknowledgment to his fielding and throwing errors connected Ryan Ritter's grounder successful the third. After the Braves tied the people astatine 1-1 successful the sixth, Holmes gave up Ryan McMahon's go-ahead homer successful the seventh. The right-hander gave up 3 runs, 2 earned, successful 6⅓ innings.

"It sucks to discarded that commencement from him," Braves archetypal baseman Matt Olson said.

Holmes' 15 strikeouts came 1 crippled aft Spencer Strider's 13 strikeouts successful Saturday's 4-1 triumph implicit the Rockies.

"I didn't spot that coming," said Braves manager Brian Snitker, adding that Holmes' beardown commencement was not the lone surprise.

"I felt bully astir putting runs connected the board, too," Snitker said, referring to the team's beardown hitting successful scoring a combined 16 runs portion winning the archetypal 2 games of the series.

"We're starting to click present and get this happening rolling," Snitker said. "We conscionable can't get disconnected the mat and get thing rolling for immoderate extended clip and we haven't each year."

Relievers Enyel De Los Santos and Jose Ruiz combined to springiness up 7 runs aft Holmes' exit.

Even so, Holmes' commencement gives the Braves assurance successful their rotation that besides includes Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Chris Sale and Bryce Elder.

"Those guys are truly good," Holmes said. "... I consciousness similar going guardant if we enactment similar we are we'll beryllium successful a beauteous bully position."

The Braves person won back-to-back bid against Milwaukee and Colorado, but they couldn't implicit the expanse of the Rockies they hoped would supply momentum earlier a sojourn from the NL East-leading New York Mets. The three-game bid begins Tuesday night.

The Braves tweaked their rotation, moving Sale from his scheduled commencement Sunday truthful helium could travel Schwellenbach against the Mets, with Strider planned for the 3rd game.

The Mets volition beryllium looking to rebound aft being swept astatine location by Tampa Bay. They are inactive 13 games up of third-place Atlanta successful the division.

"We've got to crook the leafage and get acceptable to play Tuesday," said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza pursuing Sunday's 9-0 nonaccomplishment to the Rays.

"We cognize erstwhile you look astatine this squad connected paper, that's a truly bully team," Mendoza said of the Braves (31-39).

The Braves volition sojourn New York for a four-game bid June 23-26.

"We've got a accidental to marque up immoderate ground," Olson said. "It volition beryllium our archetypal clip seeing them."