If the Braves can win one more game today, in what will be Hurston Waldrep’s second career start, they can win all three against the Rays and push their winning streak to four. For over a month, it felt like all the Braves could count on were barrels becoming outs, but the worm appears to be turning, as there has been a parade of barreled Braves homers over the first two games of this series.

Still, this game may hinge on Waldrep showing a lot more than he did in his MLB debut, or being pre-emptively pulled from the game if he doesn’t. Waldrep’s first start, last Sunday, saw him face the minimum through three thanks to a caught stealing, with a 1/1 K/BB ratio. But then, things quickly unraveled as soon as the Nationals got a second try at him: he retired just two of the nine batters he faced in the fourth, walking three of them and giving up a big three-run homer on a misplaced fastball in the process. Things then went from bad to worse as he left the bases loaded and then Aaron Bummer allow C.J. Abrams to unload them with a double, but that is honestly less of a concern than the lack of strikeouts and going absolutely pitching verklempt the second time through. So, the hope is that both of those things improve against the Rays today — but if they don’t, maybe the Braves can take whatever effectiveness Waldrep has to give them, and relieve him of duty before things get out of han