When Spencer Strider was nearing his return to the major league roster which he made on Sunday, Braves manager Walt Weiss told reporters that Martín Pérez was going to be moving to the bullpen.
He was never used in that capacity, however, and will now instead be starting again for Atlanta’s Wednesday afternoon series finale at Seattle eight days after his last start against the Tigers on April 28.
This came to pass after Pérez did not have to be used out of the bullpen in Tuesday night’s 3-2 win over
the Mariners. It’s unclear yet exactly what it means for Grant Holmes, who had been projected to start on Wednesday, and whether he will be switching roles with Pérez and becoming a bullpen arm for the time being or if he’ll just be pushed back a few days and start Friday’s series opener against the Dodgers.
The veteran southpaw will be tasked with trying to maintain the Braves’ perfect series record on the season. They’re 10-0-1 in series (splitting a four-game set at Arizona was the only non-win), a perfect 5-0 in rubber matches and still have the best record in the majors at 26-11.
While he doesn’t have the flashiest stuff, Pérez (2-1, 2.22 ERA) has been undeniably effective this season in a hybrid role across six appearances, four of which were starts. Last time out, he navigated around four walks and allowed just two hits in five scoreless innings of the Braves’ series-opening 5-2 win over Detroit.
Pérez has already thrown over half as many innings (28 1/3) as he had last season for the White Sox (56). Early returns say that the 35-year-old pitching in his 15th major league season may have found the fountain of youth in Atlanta. He has a career-best 0.988 WHIP through six appearances this season.
He’ll be facing off against a Seattle lineup which has scored all seven of its runs through two games of this series on a trio of homers. Pérez has allowed three total homers this season, two of which came in a relief appearance at Washington after a disastrous Reynaldo Lopez start.
On the mound, Seattle will start right-hander Bryan Woo (1-2, 4.61) for the series finale. On paper, that should give the Mariners an edge. Woo posted ERAs below 3.00 with over 120 innings pitched in each of the last two seasons.
Woo’s recent form, however, has been suboptimal. After allowing eight total earned runs on 22 hits in his first five 2026 starts, he’s allowed 13 runs on 16 hits in his last two, throwing a combined nine innings.
Particularly worrisome considering the lineup he’s facing is the fact that all six of the homers Woo has surrendered have come in his last two starts, giving up four in a three-inning stint against St. Louis and then giving up two more last time out against Kansas City.
The Braves’ 55 homers this season are second most in the majors behind the Dodgers. They’ve hit five in the first two games of the Seattle series, two of which have come off the bat of Matt Olson, who now leads the National League with 13 homers.
Perez, a longtime Texas Rangers pitcher, has faced the Mariners 31 times and thrown 155 innings against them, both the most of any opponent. He has an 8-6 record and 3.31 ERA against Seattle, but hasn’t faced the Mariners since a pair of relief appearances in 2023. Woo, a fourth-year big leaguer, has never faced the Braves.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, May 6, 4:10 p.m. EDT
Location: T-Mobile Park, Seattle, WA
TV: BravesVision, Gray TV
Streaming: MLB.tv (and Braves.tv if you’re in-market, etc.)
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan
