PHILADELPHIA — Before he even took the mound at Citizens Bank Park against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday afternoon, Atlanta Braves right-hander Grant Holmes felt the pressure that comes with playing in an unforgiving environment.And his big-game jitters were reflected in the first inning of what was eventually a 1-0 loss, when his shaky command led to him loading the bases with two outs. That’s when Holmes took the time to pause and go back to a piece of advice pitching coach Jeremy Hefner gives him during his bullpen sessions, when no one is around. And in the process, Holmes showed he could handle a playoff-like moment.“I just encouraged him to throw a 90 percent pitch every single time and be smooth,” Hefner said. “And if it doesn’t come out at 95 mph, it’s OK. If you pitch at 92 mph and you’re better off third time through (the batting order) or deeper in the game, then you can navigate the game a little bit better as opposed to trying to go 110 percent every pitch.”With that in mind, Holmes took a deep breath and fired a 94.8-mph fastball to get Bryson Stott to line out and leave the runners stranded. Stott marked the first of 10 straight batters Holmes retired, with half of them resulting in strikeouts. That included getting Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper to strike out consecutively in the third inning.The Braves’ offense mustered only two hits in Jesús Luzardo’s shutout, preventing the Braves from returning home with a series victory. Instead, they settled for a series split that leaves them four games ahead of the Phillies with 18 games to play, still a substantial cushion atop the National League East.But in Holmes’ 27th start of the season, he delivered six scoreless innings, allowed three hits and struck out six, with 17 whiffs. His fastball sat at 94.8 mph, compared to his season average of 94.1. Holmes has gone six innings in four of his past six starts that were not interrupted by rain. Despite his edginess at the beginning Monday, he has a 2.22 ERA across 24 1/3 innings in his career against the Phillies.“I say it all the time, Grant’s been a really good starter for us,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “And today’s stuff was as good as I’ve seen in a while.”It’s hard to miss Holmes — whether it be on the mound or in real life.His luscious, long, curly orange hair and handlebar mustache look as if he had been catching trout and catfish out of the Chattahoochee River for a living rather than pitching for the Braves.But as the leaves begin to change color, so does the intensity that comes with September baseball. It’ll only grow exponentially once the Braves play in the postseason, which they have a 100 percent chance of making, according to FanGraphs.When asked whether he sees every start as an audition to show that he can handle more big moments in the playoffs, Holmes downplayed the idea, saying: “The main objective is to go as deep in the game as I can and give the team a good chance to win. I felt like I did a pretty good job at that today.”But it’s hard to believe Holmes isn’t trying to prove he has the moxie to pitch in the postseason for the first time in his career. And right now, behind Chris Sale and Tyler Mahle, Holmes should be in the discussion to be part of the Braves’ playoff rotation. Since the beginning of August, Holmes has a 2.27 ERA and has not allowed a run in five of his seven outings.And his next start will probably come against the Phillies again, sandwiched in between Sale, whom Weiss said will pitch in the series opener Friday at Truist Park, and Mahle.And perhaps with the roar of Braves country and the insight from Hefner, Holmes could match or even outperform one of his best outings.“(Philadelphia) isn’t an easy place to play,” Holmes said. “Being that the fans are loud and are into it every inning. But I feel like we’re pretty good at Truist Park. So I feel like we have the upper hand on this.”