{"id":821955,"date":"2026-10-05T06:54:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T06:54:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/821955\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T06:54:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T06:54:23","slug":"atlantas-ray-kerr-got-nlds-game-2-start-in-the-morning-at-night-he-struck-out-shohei-ohtani","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/821955\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlanta’s Ray Kerr got NLDS Game 2 start in the morning. At night, he struck out Shohei Ohtani"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Ray Kerr<\/a> is becoming an unlikely postseason hero for the Atlanta Braves<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The former convenience store and movie theater worker struck out four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani<\/a> on a 95-mph four-seam fastball in the Braves’ 3-2 victory<\/a> over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night that evened their National League Division Series at a game apiece.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did it again for us, just amazing,\u201d Braves manager Walt Weiss said. \u201cHe’s throwing the ball so well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ohtani was one of a season-high-tying four strikeouts for Kerr, a 32-year-old lefty reliever who found out in the morning that he’d be starting Game 2 that night. He allowed two hits and walked one in 2 2\/3 innings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t really have much pressure on me,\u201d Kerr said, explaining that he had breakfast with his wife and baby who are on the trip and went swimming. \u201cAnd then when I got to the field, I developed my process in my head. Just an hour before the game, stretch, and get out there and only throw for like five, six minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kerr was the opener in the Braves’ NL Wild Card Series Game 3 clincher over the Philadelphia Phillies, tossing 3 1\/3 scoreless innings, with one hit, one walk and two strikeouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been fun. It\u2019s very surprising,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s like one night, all of a sudden, I got a thousand followers on Instagram. I\u2019m getting used to it. I\u2019m just going to be myself throughout it.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 13, Kerr landed in the foster care system in Reno, Nevada, because his father was in prison and his mother was absent. He and his brother were eventually taken in by a woman who provided the stability that had been lacking in their lives.<\/p>\n

Kerr graduated from high school in Reno and played baseball at Mendocino College in Northern California for two years before quitting the sport. He returned home and took jobs at a 7-Eleven and a theater. <\/p>\n

A coach at Lassen College in the Sierra Nevada foothills convinced Kerr to join the team. He went on to play in the Alaska Baseball League in 2017, where his fastball touched 93 mph. That August, he signed with the Seattle Mariners as an undrafted free agent.<\/p>\n

In 2021, he was traded to the San Diego Padres. The following season he reached the majors for the first time, appearing in seven games before being sent down to Triple-A in 2023. Late that year, he was traded to the Braves and started the 2024 season at Triple-A.<\/p>\n

He had Tommy John surgery, ending his season in June and keeping him out all of 2025. He returned this year and got selected to Atlanta’s active roster in August.<\/p>\n

Kerr made his season debut on Aug. 17, and posted a 1.47 ERA over 18 1\/3 innings in nine appearances. Left-handed hitters \u2014 like Ohtani \u2014 hit .174 against him with a double being the only extra-base hit he allowed.<\/p>\n

The Braves are headed back to Atlanta for Game 3 on Tuesday, when ace Chris Sale is expected to start. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be crazy there,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cThe crowd\u2019s going to be beautiful to watch. I already know it. Especially against the Dodgers.\u201d<\/p>\n

And if Kerr gets the nod to take down more innings again, he’ll tell himself \u201cAll right, let’s get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s what I say every time,\u201d he said, \u201cand then I stick to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

\n https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/mlb<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Ray Kerr is becoming an unlikely postseason hero for the Atlanta Braves. The former…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":821956,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[13311,1837,5878,13310,1769,5,4],"class_list":["post-821955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ap-online-sports-headlines","tag-ap-top-news","tag-ap-top-news-l-twc-regions","tag-ap-top-news-sports","tag-associated-press","tag-baseball","tag-mlb"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/117386992914269464","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=821955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/821956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=821955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=821955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=821955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}