Tyler Mahle had been absolutely brilliant on the mound since the Atlanta Braves acquired him in a trade from the San Francisco Giants.
That is, until Thursday — when Mahle had his worst start with the Braves at an unfortunate time.
Mahle allowed five earned runs in five innings before being pulled.
Painfully, Mahle needed six innings to earn a $1 million contract incentive.
Tyler Mahle’s Missing Inning
According to Ken Sugiura of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mahle’s contract includes an incentive that pays him an extra $1 million if he reaches 150 innings for the season.
Entering Thursday night, Mahle had thrown 144 between the Giants and the Braves. Six more innings, in what would be his final start of the regular season, would get the job done.
If Mahle had pitched how he had already for the Braves, six innings would’ve been no problem.
But he got hit around, and his pitch count got up there, and Mahle had to be pulled.
an interesting situation in Tyler Mahle’s start tonight. He needed to pitch six innings to reach 150 for the season and trigger a reported $1 million incentive. But, in his bumpiest start since joining the Braves, he only made it to five, giving up five earned runs.
— Ken Sugiura (@ksugiuraajc) September 25, 2026
Mahle acknowledged to reporters after the game that he knew he needed six innings for the bonus, but did add, “I don’t think it hindered my performance at all.
Braves manager Walt Weiss also noted that in a perfect world, he would’ve loved to make it happen for Mahle, but that on this night, it didn’t make sense to push him.
Walt Weiss said that he likes to try to help players in situations like that “but with everything at stake, it would have been irresponsible” to send him back out for the sixth inning.
Mahle’s base salary this season is $10 million.— Ken Sugiura (@ksugiuraajc) September 25, 2026
It seems like there’s a decent chance the Braves decide to step in and pay out the bonus at 149 innings, given the spirit of the clause, and the fact that it’s an easy way for a franchise to build good will that other players will notice when they’re considering what team to sign with.
Tyler Mahle With Braves
The 31-year old Mahle had a 5.13 ERA in 18 starts with the Giants before being traded.
Even with the bumpy Thursday night, Mahle has a 1.99 ERA in nine starts with Atlanta.
He has improved his walk rate, home run rate and hit rate considerably with the Braves, which has added up to impressive improvements in results.
Of note at this point: Mahle has never pitched in the playoffs. So while even though he didn’t quite get to his contract incentive, there’s more work to be done. Atlanta is going to the postseason, and Mahle will surely be called upon to make his playoff debut and try to get back on track.
Braves’ Tyler Mahle Loses $1 Million Over 1 Inning