Last night’s game might have featured the most important Braves development of the season to date, as 22-year-old AJ Smith-Shawver had the best performance of his young career, carrying a no-hitter into the eighth inning.

Unfortunately, a single to begin the frame ended the dream, but Smith-Shawver still finished eight innings of shutout ball while allowing just the one hit, making him the youngest pitcher to go 8+ innings while allowing just one hit since Michael Wacha back in 2013.

AJ Smith-Shawver (22 yrs, 166 days) is the youngest pitcher in MLB with a start of 8+ IP and 1/0 H allowed since Michael Wacha on Sept. 24, 2013.

— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) May 6, 2025

The Braves would go on to win the game thanks to a bunch of key plays from — stop me if you’ve heard this recently — Alex Verdugo, Eli White, and Nick Allen. Those three have been so pivotal to Atlanta’s recent success, and so has AJ Smith-Shawver. That’s now three outstanding performances in a row, lowering his ERA on the season to an even 3.00.

It seems Smith-Shawver is finally turning the proverbial corner, something this Braves rotation desperately needs with Spencer Strider and Reynaldo Lopez on the IL. There’s been absolutely no consistency from any starting pitcher, outside of Grant Holmes, and while it’s reasonable to expect guys like Chris Sale and Spencer Schwellenbach to bounce back, the Braves still need more, especially until Strider returns.

Speaking of Spencer Strider, the Braves provided a couple of injury updates on him and Ronald Acuña Jr. prior to yesterday’s game. Strider has progressed to throwing long toss. He’s yet to throw off a mound, but that’s the next step. If there are no setbacks, he could be back with the team in the next few weeks.

#Braves’ Spencer Strider progressed to long-toss this weekend, another key step towards his return from IL (hamstring). No timetable.

— David O’Brien (@DOBrienATL) May 5, 2025

Acuña’s timeline isn’t too dissimilar. The Braves announced he will begin a rehab assignment this month. Once that occurs, he’ll also be just a couple of weeks away from rejoining the major-league club.

Update on Ronald Acuña Jr. per #Braves — He will not go back to Los Angeles to see doctors again.

The team had discussed it but it was decided in consultation with Dr. Neal ElAttrache today that Acuña’s knee is good to go.

He will begin his rehab assignment this month.

— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) May 5, 2025

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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire