JR Ritchie takes the mound for Cardinals Finale

Apr 23, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher JR Ritchie (56) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Though the Atlanta Braves have lost the serie

What is the story about?

Though the Atlanta Braves have lost the series, they still have a chance to end the first half of the season on a high note before heading into the All-Star break.

MLB Braves’ beat writer Mark Bowman had announced on Friday that, as Hurston Waldrep would be sent back down to Triple- A, JR Ritchie would be taking his place in today’s matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Ritchie’s rookie season has had its ups and downs. After spending some time in Triple-A when the Braves optioned Carlos Carrasco to the active roster earlier this month (July 5), Ritchie is looking to make an impact to give the Braves a solid start to hold down the Cardinals, who have been getting the best of them on offense throughout the series.

Holding a 4.60 ERA with 10 games under his belt (three as a reliever), Ritchie is still trying to find his footing and what works constantly for him to stick with. If he has the Braves’ offense on his side today, he might have the push he needs to spark a quality outing on the defensive-end for his first matchup against St. Louis.

As for Cardinals starter Dustin May, he’s looking to help St. Louis clinch their first series sweep for the first time since early June. Holding a 4.55 ERA currently, with a 1.25 WHIP, May also hasn’t been the most consistent in his starts, and is 0-2 when facing the Braves in his three starts against them.

In his last matchup against Atlanta on July 2, he gave up five runs off five hits with only one strikeout. This could work to the Braves’ advantage if he finds the same trouble commanding the strike zone. He did, however, get a better showing in his most recent matchup against Milwaukee, allowing four hits, no earned runs and seven strikeouts just this past Monday.

This matchup will honestly be a toss-up on which version of these two pitchers we’re going to get to close out the first half of the regular season. Ritchie is looking to avoid the sweep and May is looking to get one. Both are hoping for a quality outing after suffering some shaky starts; the question is, who wants it more?