ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Right-hander Hurston Waldrep continued his stellar audition for the Atlanta Braves’ 2026 rotation with six shutout innings in Friday’s 2-0 win against the Cleveland Guardians.
In three games (two starts) for Atlanta, Waldrep has allowed just two runs across 17.2 innings (1.02 ERA) while posting a 0.79 WHIP.
Though a small sample size thus far, the turnaround for Waldrep has been incredible after an appalling two-start cameo in 2024, where Waldrep allowed 13 runs across seven innings with just three strikeouts.
On Friday, Waldrep struck out seven Guardians across six frames. He walked two while allowing just two hits, both to Steven Kwan.
This transformation can be traced back to earlier this season, when catcher Sean Murphy was rehabbing a rib injury at Triple-A Gwinnett. Murphy suggested Waldrep throw a sinker, giving him a sixth pitch to complement his splitter, curveball, cutter, four-seamer and slider.
Waldrep quickly grew accustomed to it and now throws the pitch 21.5% of the time. Manager Brian Snitker had Murphy catch all three of Waldrep’s games when he was called up.
The Braves got on the board in the fourth inning with a bases-loaded walk and added on in the ninth inning on a Michael Harris II RBI single.
Ronald Acuña Jr. went 0-for-3 with a walk in his return from the injured list.
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Braves southpaw Joey Wentz is scheduled to face Guardians right-hander Slade Cecconi in Saturday’s matchup.