Tyler Mahle's rough outing on Thursday doesn't erase the impressive stretch he's had after being acquired from San Francisco at the trade deadline.
Tyler Mahle didn't have the outing he hoped for on Thursday night during the Atlanta Braves' matchup against the Cincinnati Reds, giving up six hits and five earned runs through five innings of work to hand the team a 7-6 loss.
Still, his rough start doesn't wipe away the impressive stretch he's had, posting a dominant 1.99 ERA and striking out 48 batters through 54.1 innings pitched as a Brave.
Furthermore, the 31-year-old right-hander has turned into one of the hottest pitchers in the league who's earned the trust of manager Walt Weiss.
"I think he's had eight really good ones I want to say and then before this one," Weiss said in a postgame press conference. "He's outstanding, it's just his location was just a little bit off and that's what can happen in this league. If you miss by a little bit, it can hurt you."
Prior to the move, he struggled heavily on the Giants, compiling a 5.13 ERA during his lone season with the franchise. His last outing with San Francisco ended in brutal fashion when he gave up five hits and five earned runs, resulting in a 6-5 loss to the San Diego Padres.
His remarkable turnaround with Atlanta has shown exactly why he's been in the league for so long even though he's bounced across various teams including Cincinnati where he first started out his career.
He posted a 3.16 ERA for the Minnesota Twins in 2023, the lowest he recorded since making his big-league debut with the Reds in 2017.
That wouldn't be enough for Minnesota to keep him around though, forcing him to find a new home once again with the Texas Rangers where he concluded 2025 with an impressive 2.18 ERA before going on to sign with San Francisco before this season.
After this year's deadline, many questions were raised about Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos regarding whether he did enough to address the team's injured starting rotation that was barely held together by All-Star Chris Sale.
However, Anthopoulos going with his gut has evidently paid off with Atlanta making the postseason for the eighth time in the last nine years and clinching the NL East for the seventh time in nine seasons.
With the Braves back in the big dance, Mahle should be in for a great bounce-back opportunity after the club's regular-season campaign comes to an end this weekend against the division rival Miami Marlins.
