Left-hander Joey Wentz will make his first major league start since 2023 when he takes the mound for the Atlanta Braves on Saturday in the second game of his team’s home series against the New York Yankees.
The Braves won the opener 7-3 on Friday and have won three of their last four while New York has lost three straight.
Wentz (2-1, 6.32 ERA) will face Yankees right-hander Will Warren (6-5, 4.63).
Wentz was added to the Atlanta roster prior to the All-Star Game after he was designated for assignment by Minnesota on July 10. The Braves signed Wentz, whom they drafted in 2016, with plans to stretch him out and possibly use him in their depleted rotation.
Wentz began the year with Pittsburgh and went 2-1 with a 4.15 ERA in 19 relief appearances. He was released by the Pirates and caught on with the Twins, where he posted a 15.75 ERA in six appearances.
In his Atlanta debut on Saturday, he pitched three scoreless innings of relief against St. Louis. He allowed only a two-out walk after retiring the first eight hitters he faced, six of them by strikeout.
“That was pretty good, wasn’t it?” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said afterward. “I didn’t know what to expect. He just got here and, wow, that was about as good as you can get. Took out a huge chunk of that game. He got us to the guys that we wanted to pitch at the back end of the game. It was a great job.”
Wentz has faced the Yankees six times in his career, all in relief, and has gone 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA.
Warren started Sunday against the Cubs in Chicago and took the loss despite allowing only two runs over 5 1/3 innings.
“That’s a day where they had a lot of good at-bats,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “He didn’t necessarily have his best command, but he kind of navigated it. That’s what the good ones do. When they’re not at their best, they’re still able to find a way.”
Warren was added to the rotation after injuries to Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil and has evolved into a solid piece of the rotation. In 20 starts, he has allowed three or fewer runs 14 times.
“I feel good,” Warren said. “We have a lot of older guys in the clubhouse, so I can lean on them, learn a few things, how to manage workloads and stuff like that. I’ve never done this amount of innings and starts in a year, but I’m feeling good.”
Warren has never faced the Braves.
The Yankees failed to hit a home run on Friday, ending a streak of 11 straight games with a homer — their second-longest streak of the season. New York has 29 long balls over the last 15 games.
New York’s Aaron Judge had a single on Friday, reaching base for the 86th time in 97 games. However, he also struck out three times.
On Thursday, Atlanta added right-hander Dane Dunning in a trade with Texas for right-hander Jose Ruiz and designated veteran Jesse Chavez for assignment. Dunning adds roster flexibility and can be used as a starter or in long relief.
–Field Level Media
