Braves' Martin Perez: Used in relief Wednesday
Perez struck out two over an inning of relief Wednesday in Atlanta's 4-1 win over the Cubs.
After making his last two appearances as a starter, Perez has shifted back to the bullpen while Atlanta has scaled back its rotation from six to five men. Perez may not have to wait long for his next look in the rotation, however; rookie JR Ritchie endured another shaky start Wednesday, needing 87 pitches to record 13 outs. Though Ritchie maintains a shiny 3.32 ERA through his first four big-league outings, most of his other ratios (1.43 WHIP, 2.2 K-BB%) are poor and suggest that he's benefited from some good fortune thus far in terms of run prevention. If Ritchie's control problems persist in future outings, it wouldn't be surprising if Atlanta turned back to Perez as its fifth starter. The veteran has been a steady performer throughout the season with a 2.31 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 10.9 K-BB% over his eight appearances (five starts).
