Hurston Waldrep continues impressing, Braves offense explodes in ninth for win

MIAMI — Hurston Waldrep’s latest triumph might’ve said more about his development than any of his past successes.

Waldrep has enjoyed a breakthrough season since his summoning on that fateful day in Bristol, Tennessee, earlier this month. He’s looked vastly different from a season ago, showing the confidence and aggression necessary — along with a splendid five-pitch mix — to sustain success.

This time, he wasn’t dominant, but it might’ve still been his most impressive outing. Despite lacking his best stuff, Waldrep gutted through 5-1/3 innings, allowing one run on eight hits without recording a strikeout. He left with a 2-1 lead as Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara allowed two runs over seven innings.

The Braves ultimately defeated the Marlins 11-2 Tuesday in Miami behind a nine-run ninth inning that included a go-ahead RBI double from utilityman Vidal Brujan and a two-run single from rookie of the year candidate Drake Baldwin. It also featured a three-run homer from second baseman Ozzie Albies, who had his first two-homer performance since July 4, 2023.

But the story before the outburst again centered on Waldrep, who navigated multiple jams, including a bases-loaded, none-out situation in the fourth in which he didn’t surrender a run.

“I just grinded through the outing,” Waldrep said. “You look up and you’re in the sixth, same situation fighting to get outs. Overall, I thought it was good, but it was a fight.”

Waldrep has a 0.90 ERA through 30 innings this month. He’s on a run comparable some Braves’ All-Star starters of years past. He’s out-of-nowhere become among the few bright spots of this disappointing Braves season. “He’s been awesome,” manager Brian Snitker said.

And his spectacular run is positioning him to enter next spring with a rotation spot written in pencil.

“I can’t really focus on that stuff, the future,” Waldrep said. “That’s not my call. There’s nothing I can do about that. All I can do is pitch and play my game, show my stuff, and the people above me who make the calls, we’ll see how that goes.”

If healthy, the Braves should feel enthusiastic about their top four in the rotation for the 2026 season. Chris Sale, Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach possess ace-level upside, while Waldrep is just tapping into how effective he can be. The team will have Reynaldo Lopez and Grant Holmes returning from injuries, too, as options in the rotation or bullpen. They’ll likely investigate adding another veteran starter as well.

Waldrep, though, seems heading towards earning a spot. There’s a lot to learn from an outing like Tuesday’s, how he handled a lineup while not at his best. It’s a testament to how he’s grown over the past year.

“That’s what you’re looking for,” Snitker said. “It’s easy to have everything go really good and go your way, but when things aren’t happening quite like you want them to, and you have to fight through it, I saw a lot of really good stuff tonight out of him.”