ATLANTA --  Reynaldo López didn’t increase his chances of being added to the Braves’ postseason roster. But AJ Smith-Shawver showed why he could be valuable out of Atlanta’s bullpen during the playoffs.

López’s early struggles in a 7-3 loss to the Cubs on Monday night at Wrigley Field created an opportunity for Smith-Shawver to display what he can do as a reliever. The 23-year-old hurler surrendered a Pete Crow-Armstrong homer in his third inning of work, but Smith-Shawver’s first two innings were stellar.

The Braves have lost two straight, but are still 4 1/2 games in front of the second-place Phillies in the National League East. With Bryce Elder recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, Atlanta has had to give López a couple starts recently. 

Fortunately for the Braves, four of the final five games of their road trip will be started by pitchers who have a legitimate shot at making a postseason start. López’s bid to become part of the team’s playoff plans faltered as he allowed the Cubs to score five runs on six hits over three innings. 

Smith-Shawver entered to begin the bottom of the fourth and retired eight of the first nine batters he faced. He had retired seven straight before Carson Kelly singled ahead of Crow-Armstrong’s two-out homer in the sixth.

Crow-Armstrong also strengthened his NL MVP resume with a fourth-inning single off Smith-Shawver, who struck out two while allowing four hits, three walks and two runs over five innings. His three walks were all issued within his final two innings. 

Would Smith-Shawver be best utilized as a one-inning option out of the bullpen? Or would it be better to use him as a multi-inning option who could be used to bridge the gap to the team’s high-leverage relievers during the postseason? Could he be valuable as a bulk reliever?

When Smith-Shawver made his season debut for Atlanta on July 29, he was a little more than 13 months removed from Tommy John surgery. As he posted a 7.71 ERA in five starts for Atlanta, it became obvious he wouldn’t be part of the Braves’ postseason rotation.

But Smith-Shawver’s starts created reason to think he could be an effective reliever. 

Smith-Shawver posted a 1.80 ERA in the first inning of his five starts this year. Opponents facing him for the first time in those starts batted .162 with a .608 OPS.  He had just a 23.5 percent whiff rate in those starts. but opponents have 31.6 percent of their swings against him in the first inning.