Bryce Elder and an ostensible mandate to save the bullpen requires more of an offensive outburst than what the Braves got in order to pull off a victory
Life may be like a box of chocolates, but a Bryce Elder start after mid-June 2023 is pretty much… a Bryce Elder start after mid-June 2023. Combine that with the fact that the Atlanta Braves were playing a relatively quick turnaround game after using much of their bullpen to secure an extra-innings victory yesterday, and the mandate for this game was pretty clear: use Elder and Zach Thompson to buy the bullpen a breather, and whatever happens, happens.
Well, what happened was that the Braves ended up falling behind in predictable fashion, and though they got two homers late, it wasn’t quite enough. So, that’s loss number ten in the books, and still no consecutive wins for the team on the season. There’s probably some kind of philosophical discussion to be had about when you go into strategic stop-loss, but the Braves don’t seem very interested in that discussion, even after arguably needing to have it a bunch of times last year.
But, before I get sidetracked, let’s get back to the game. The Braves jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead against Taj Bradley in the first, as an Austin Riley bloop, Marcell Ozuna walk, and Matt Olson bouncer through the infield combined to actually sequence a run together. Bradley then walked Ozzie Albies, but struck out Bryan De La Cruz and Jarred Kelenic.
After that, not much happened for a while. Both Bradley and Elder worked around a scattering of hits for a few frames, and the Rays tied the game in the bottom of the third on a soft flare single, a hard bouncer through the infield, and a sac fly.
The bottom of the fourth was a weird frame. After a one-out single through the infield, and an unsuccessful (but close) snap throw to first, Christopher Morel ended up on third as Drake Baldwin’s attempt to throw him out at second went very, very wide. Kameron Misner followed with a weak bouncer to Olson, who threw to Baldwin for an out at the plate (which required replay review to actually let the correct call stand). That seemed like it was going to be a huge boon for Elder and the Braves, but Danny Jansen, who was having a miserable start to 2025 so far, jumped all over a first-pitch sinker from Elder and hit an absolute silo ball, 100+ mph but 40 degrees in the air, pulling it down the left field line for a two-run homer.
Things were then also momentarily weird slash annoying in the fifth, as Marcell Ozuna hit a hard liner with Michael Harris II running on the pitch (due to a full count) and one out, but right at the shortstop, for an inning-ending double play.
By the sixth, Elder was deep in the third time through the order, but with the Braves already trailing and what felt like a mandate to just let him eat all the innings, especially given his low pitch count, things basically clambered out of the Braves’ reach. Elder actually started that frame by doubling his strikeout total, but then Morel hooked a changeup below the zone over the fence in left for another somewhat atypical homer. Still, Elder persevered, and by persevered I mean, “gave up another run” thanks to a single, stolen base, and a bloop hit by Jansen.
All this time, Taj Bradley wasn’t really sweating the Braves, who were largely making weak outs. Elder finished with a 4/0 K/BB ratio (somewhat surprising) and two homers allowed (maybe a lot less surprising). Bradley continued his solid work with a 7/2 K/BB ratio.
Mason Montgomery worked an easy top of the seventh in relief of Bradley, and Zach Thompson came in after Elder departed and issued a leadoff walk, but that runner ended up stranded on third. In the eighth, the Braves showed some signs of life with a couple of barreled solo shots: Ozuna took Edwin Uceta deep with one out, and then Albies followed suit two batters later. At that point, the Braves trailed by two runs.
After Thompson got a strikeout to start the bottom of the eighth, for whatever reason, the Braves decided to renege on their “save the bullpen” day by having Pierce Johnson come in. This move backfired, although not really because of the pitching: there was a single, a steal, and what should’ve been a routine fly ball by Jansen, but was instead a ground-rule RBI double because the Braves have De La Cruz out there “playing left field.” That capped the scoring at 6-3 in favor of the Rays. Baldwin had a hard-hit double in the ninth, but Pete Fairbanks closed out the game with little issue otherwise.
The Rays might remember this game down the line as the one where Jansen turned his fortunes around, as he went 3-for-4 and plated four of their six runs. The Braves… probably won’t remember this game at all, because that’s pretty much what happens when you designate it the “let Elder pitch a long time and hope everyone gets rested even though it’s April 11” game. The series continues tomorrow afternoon with AJ Smith-Shawver set to face Drew Rasmussen.