CHICAGO (AP) — Grant Holmes' slider was working again, and he knew he was on a roll against the Chicago White Sox.
The Atlanta right-hander was getting outs in a hurry Thursday. The few times White Sox batters made solid contact — flies to the warning track or infielder liners — his fielders were in position.
Holmes didn’t allow a hit until Andrew Benintendi lined a single to left with no outs in the seventh. That turned out to be Chicago’s only hit in the contest,
and followed a walk to Miguel Vargas that put two runners on.
Holmes was relieved by Didier Fuentes, who struck out the side. Dylan Lee and Raisel Iglesias each followed with a perfect inning as the Braves' bullpen fanned seven of nine batters to complete the one-hitter in a 2-0 victory.
“It was nice to have the slider kind of come back there for a little bit,” said Holmes, who felt good after warming up before the contest. “Went into the game knowing it’s working and just trusted it, and it came out on the good side.”
Holmes improved to 8-5 and lowered his ERA to 3.64 with a 94-pitch outing, throwing 51 sliders. He walked three and struck out three in a six-plus innings to help the Braves prevail in a meeting of division leaders that was a makeup game for a June 11 rainout.
The 30-year-old was aware during the game he hadn't allowed a hit.
“Absolutely, I looked every inning,” Holmes said. “And how the day was going, I felt like I could throw it anywhere and they were going to get hit at somebody. So I was just keeping that mindset and filling up the zone as quick as possible and getting the outs as quick as possible.”
Holmes rebounded after allowing six runs in his last start against Arizona on Saturday. In the two outings before that, however, he tossed scoreless ball through six innings.
He revived his slider by watching video and tweaking his wrist positioning.
“Opposing teams, they game-plan for (the slider) and they know it's coming, but it's a really good pitch,” manager Walt Weiss said. “It's just goes to show you if you execute pitches, even if they are sitting on it and you put it in a good spot, it's still tough to hit.”
Weiss said he wanted to let Holmes go as deep in the game as possible. Had Holmes walked Benintendi to put two runners on, Weiss would have faced a tougher decision. The single made it easier.
“He gave up the hit and the point is moot,” Weiss said. “I was going to give him as a long a leash as I should because that's a special thing, chasing that stuff.”
Holmes retired 18 of the first 20 White Sox hitters. Colson Montgomery walked with two outs in the second and Drew Romo walked with one out in the fifth for Chicago's first two baserunners.
There's been only one no-hitter in the majors this season, a combined effort by three Houston pitchers in a 9-0 win over Texas on May 25. The Braves' last no-hitter was by Kent Mercker in a 6-0 win over the Dodgers at Los Angeles on April 8, 1994.
Holmes has never pitched a complete game in the majors. His longest effort was 7 2/3 innings on April 14, 2025, in an 8-4 win over Toronto.
Holmes spent 10 years in the minors before making his major league debut on June 16, 2024, with the Braves.
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