It's not common you get a do-over for an interleague start that didn't go as planned in a given season. Grant Holmes got that rare opportunity and made it count.

On Thursday afternoon, the Atlanta Braves right-hander took the mound in Chicago and delivered six-plus scoreless innings. He took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and was pulled after giving up two baserunners to open the innings.

With some clutch help from Didier Fuentes, the scoreless outing was kept intact. The month of August has seen a mostly electric version of the 30-year-old rotation arm. It's a solid day that came against a solid offense. This isn't the White Sox of 2022 to 2025. This is a solid lineup, and he put them in their place.

Along with that, there is the added pressure of the weird travel schedule. The Braves had to hop over to Chicago for a single game due to poor weather two months ago. They were in Minnesota the night before, and they immediately have to head north to Milwaukee for another series that is only partially in Milwaukee. One of the games is in Williamsport, Pa., for the Little League Classic.

It puts pressure on the team, and a starting pitcher doing his jobs alleviates it.

Three of his four starts this month have been scoreless, with him pitching at least six innings each time.

Even when you factor in his six earned runs allowed in his last start on Saturday, he has a 2.49 ERA across 21 2/3 innings pitched. He hasn't needed strikeouts to get the job done. He has just 13 in that time, and he's only recorded five in one of his August starts.

There has been some speculation, including here on Atlanta Braves on SI, as to who could get the boot from the rotation in time now that AJ Smith-Shawver is back. Initially, we concluded that Holmes would likely be an odd man out strictly due to precedent.

If this is how he's looking 75% of the time, then he's not taking on any other role besides the one he's had for 23 of 24 appearances this season. Nor should he, for the record.

An alternative can be determined when the time comes. One thing is for sure: He's got the chance to show that his start last week was a one-off, and that's exactly how it looks at this time.

This month remains a strong one for the starting rotation. Over 18 games, the rotation has combined for a 2.88 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. There have been moments of frustration, especially on the nights when things get out of hand in a hurry, but the sample size is showing a solid job is getting done overall.

Bigger tests are ahead. Most conclusions will be drawn in October, but in the weeks after the trade deadline, things have been good for this part of the team. They may not always want to admit when they've had a fire lit underneath them, but this chip on their shoulder has been paying dividends.

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