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Walt Weiss knows how crucial Perez is.
Martín Pérez is having the kind of season that very few people expected.
The 35-year-old lefty has become one of the quieter success stories on a Braves team that sits at 48-27 and owns the best record in Major League Baseball.
After his latest start on Friday night, a 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers (45-29) at Truist Park, first-year manager Walt Weiss made it clear just how much Pérez has meant to this team.
"Martin was outstanding," Weiss said after the game. "He just carves up lineups and when he does get a little trouble he can navigate out of it. It's been one of our better starters."
Pérez backed up those words with another strong outing, tossing six innings while allowing just one earned run on six hits and striking out five batters on 82 pitches.
The only run came in the third inning when Brice Turang snuck an infield single through to plate Blake Perkins, but Pérez got William Contreras to fly out and kept the Brewers quiet the rest of the way.
Mauricio Dubón drove in two with a single in the sixth that put Atlanta ahead for good, Mike Yastrzemski added a solo home run in the seventh for insurance, and Raisel Iglesias locked down his 15th save to finish things off.
What makes Pérez's 2026 so impressive is how he got here.
The Venezuelan lefty has pitched for seven different teams across his 14-year career, including stops in Texas, Minnesota, Boston, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Chicago before signing with Atlanta on a minor league deal in January.
He came into spring training as a depth option and potential swingman after Joey Wentz went down with a torn ACL, and Weiss said back in March that he loved having Pérez in camp because "the guy can still really pitch."
That belief has paid off.
Pérez now sits at 6-3 with a 2.78 ERA and 1.07 WHIP through 15 appearances, 11 of those as starts, and he has quietly become one of Atlanta's most reliable arms in a rotation that has dealt with plenty of injuries.
Spencer Strider was recently shut down with elbow inflammation, and the front office has shuffled younger arms like JR Ritchie between the big leagues and Triple-A Gwinnett throughout the year.
Through all of that, Pérez has stayed steady and given the staff quality innings every time he takes the mound.
For a Braves club that went just 76-86 last season and missed the playoffs, the turnaround in 2026 has been one of the best stories in baseball.
A big piece of that has been the clubhouse culture and veteran depth that guys like Pérez bring to the table every single day.
Based on what Weiss had to say on Friday night, it is safe to say the Braves know exactly what they have in their 35-year-old lefty.
Continue reading...
Martín Pérez is having the kind of season that very few people expected.
The 35-year-old lefty has become one of the quieter success stories on a Braves team that sits at 48-27 and owns the best record in Major League Baseball.
After his latest start on Friday night, a 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers (45-29) at Truist Park, first-year manager Walt Weiss made it clear just how much Pérez has meant to this team.
"Martin was outstanding," Weiss said after the game. "He just carves up lineups and when he does get a little trouble he can navigate out of it. It's been one of our better starters."
What Pérez Did on Friday
Pérez backed up those words with another strong outing, tossing six innings while allowing just one earned run on six hits and striking out five batters on 82 pitches.
The only run came in the third inning when Brice Turang snuck an infield single through to plate Blake Perkins, but Pérez got William Contreras to fly out and kept the Brewers quiet the rest of the way.
Mauricio Dubón drove in two with a single in the sixth that put Atlanta ahead for good, Mike Yastrzemski added a solo home run in the seventh for insurance, and Raisel Iglesias locked down his 15th save to finish things off.
Why the Veteran Matters So Much
What makes Pérez's 2026 so impressive is how he got here.
The Venezuelan lefty has pitched for seven different teams across his 14-year career, including stops in Texas, Minnesota, Boston, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Chicago before signing with Atlanta on a minor league deal in January.
He came into spring training as a depth option and potential swingman after Joey Wentz went down with a torn ACL, and Weiss said back in March that he loved having Pérez in camp because "the guy can still really pitch."
That belief has paid off.
Pérez now sits at 6-3 with a 2.78 ERA and 1.07 WHIP through 15 appearances, 11 of those as starts, and he has quietly become one of Atlanta's most reliable arms in a rotation that has dealt with plenty of injuries.
Spencer Strider was recently shut down with elbow inflammation, and the front office has shuffled younger arms like JR Ritchie between the big leagues and Triple-A Gwinnett throughout the year.
Through all of that, Pérez has stayed steady and given the staff quality innings every time he takes the mound.
For a Braves club that went just 76-86 last season and missed the playoffs, the turnaround in 2026 has been one of the best stories in baseball.
A big piece of that has been the clubhouse culture and veteran depth that guys like Pérez bring to the table every single day.
Based on what Weiss had to say on Friday night, it is safe to say the Braves know exactly what they have in their 35-year-old lefty.
Continue reading...
