The Atlanta Braves were scheduled to face off against the St. Louis Cardinals in the second game of a three-game series. However, right before the game was scheduled to start, the Cardinals announced the game wouldn't begin on time. After over an hour and a half without an update, St. Louis announced the game was postponed.
The Braves already have a makeup game scheduled for this week, as the team heads to Chicago for one game immediately after the series with the Cardinals wraps up. Unfortunately, with this rainout, it makes these things much worse.
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 26, 2024
How does this rainout affect the Braves?
The Braves are currently in the midst of a three-city, seven-game road trip. After taking two of three in the series against the Yankees, the Braves dropped the opener against the Cardinals.
Immediately after announcing the rainout, the Cardinals announced that Wednesday would feature a doubleheader, with Game 1 starting at 1:45 p.m. EST and Game 2 starting at 7:45 p.m. EST.
The Braves announced that Tuesday's scheduled starter, Reynaldo Lopez would start the first game, while Bryce Elder would start the second game. Elder will be recalled from Gwinnett and be the club's 27th man.
Braves pitching plan:
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) June 26, 2024
Game 1 on Wednesday: Reynaldo López
Game 2 on Wednesday: Bryce Elder
Thursday: Chris Sale
Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the Braves had actually planned to push Chris Sale back from his Wednesday scheduled start to provide him with additional rest, and the rainout now means the club won't have to option a reliever to get Elder on the roster.
Unfortunately, the rainout also means that the Braves will now play three games in 27 hours. After finishing the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader, Atlanta will fly to Chicago to play the White Sox at 4:10 p.m. EST to make up the game which was rained out on April 3 to conclude the road trip.
Immediately after that game, the Braves will fly back to play the Pirates back home in Atlanta in a three game series starting Friday.
With the day off on July 1 and the Braves calling up Bryce Elder, the rotation won't be put in a bind once it cycles back to the top, but pressure the bullpen could face with consecutive games in such a short span, as well as a potential short bench could spell trouble for the team in the coming days.