Bad Bryce Elder, bad BABIP, Braves bashed 8-0 in Boston

Bryce Elder struggled early, with hittable pitches and a low strikeout-to-walk ratio through the first three innings. A strong defensive play helped limit damage in the first inning, but the Braves’ defense failed to back him up later. In the fourth, a leadoff single followed a four-seamer down the middle, and a non-competitive walk put runners on base. After a bunt advanced runners, Marcelo Mayer’s weak contact reached first on a boot by Matt Olson. Elder then allowed a slider that stayed up and was driven to left, followed by a bloop single that loaded the bases. Cedanne Rafaela cleared them with a first-pitch sinker single, and the inning continued with additional runs, ending Elder’s night and leading to an 8-0 loss.

"Bryce Elder wasn't particularly good up to that point, with just a 1/0 K/BB ratio through the first three frames. Whatever mechanical adjustments he had made to move up a performance notch this season were seemingly absent, and his pitches were all over the place in eminently hittable ways. A great throw from left field cut down a runner at the plate for the third out in the first, and Elder was relying heavily on his defense in this one."

"Which, of course, made it a real issue when the defense stopped backing him up. In the bottom of the fourth, Elder threw a four-seamer down the middle, and it turned into a hard-hit leadoff single. He then had a pretty gross walk (falling behind 3-0, non-competitive 3-2 pitch) to put two on. A bunt moved the runners over and brought up Marcelo Mayer."

"Elder threw a cutter up and in and Mayer somehow chopped it weakly to Matt Olson at first, but Olson booted it, and it was 1-0 in favor of Boston. Elder then threw a slider that didn't quite dive as far as it needed to, and it was yanked into left field to make it 2-0. A bloop single on another down-the-pipe four-seamer loaded the bases, and Cedanne Rafaela unloaded them by mashing a meaty first-pitch sinker into left field."

"That was it for Elder, but Wilyer Abreu got some revenge for Michael Harris II's onslaught and his own game-ending grounder from last night by hitting a Dylan Dodd pitch below the zone up the middle for a two-run single. So, in the s"

Read at Battery Power