Elder proving he's here to stay in Braves' rotation

ATLANTA -- After an up-and-down rookie season, Bryce Elder is beginning to carve out a much-needed role in the Atlanta rotation, even if he had no result to show for it on Friday.

The Astros rallied to tie the game in the seventh inning as Jesse Chavez gave up three runs without securing an out, and designated hitter Yordan Alvarez crushed a two-run homer on closer A.J. Minter’s cutter in the ninth inning to hand the Braves a 6-4 loss at Truist Park.

“It happens,” third baseman Austin Riley said. “Our bullpen has been great, so I have nothing to say but good things about them. Just one of those nights.”

Despite the loss, Elder showcased his skills -- resilience and aggressiveness -- in his fourth start. His slider was put in play by Astros’ Mauricio Dubón, who reached first on a Riley throwing error, then Astros third baseman Alex Bregman hit an RBI to give the Astros the early lead. Elder hit Alvarez with a fastball that grazed his right hip on the next at-bat.

“That first inning, I'm thinking, ‘Oh man, this could go either way,’” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He did a great job of limiting damage there, and then it's like, he gets going. He gets his rhythm. He gets on a roll and just fills that strike zone up.”

Elder settled down after those hitters, starting to attack and control the zone. He produced 12 whiffs on Friday, with nine of them coming on either his sinker or slider. The righty struck out six batters and allowed five hits, one run and one walk on 98 pitches over six innings -- his ninth consecutive outing of at least five innings pitched, dating back to last season.

Elder was called up from Triple-A Gwinnett when ace Max Fried landed on the 15-day injured list after straining his left hamstring on Opening Day. Elder has stepped up in his absence, refining his zone control to become more effective. In his four starts this season, Elder has a 1.14 ERA, logging 23 strikeouts while only walking seven. Last year, he walked 23 batters in 54 innings.

“It ultimately comes down to trusting my stuff in the zone, trying to get outs in the zone and not trying to get swinging misses,” Elder said. “This year, [I’m] really focusing on getting out in the zone and going right at guys and just kind of seeing what happens.”

The Braves continued to showcase their run-scoring firepower, but it only lasted for the first inning. Down a run in the first, they immediately struck back with four runs. Ronald Acuña Jr. kicked it off with a double to right field after battling with Astros starter Hunter Brown.

Riley drove Acuña in with another double to center field, then Ozzie Albies hit a two-run double with Riley and Sean Murphy scoring. Vaughn Grissom capped it off with his own RBI base hit.

“They're world champions because they can pitch,” Snitker said, “and that kid [Brown] they started, he's got a really good arm. He's got a good assortment -- and he kind of got settled in there too and he kind of ran out of pitches -- but that bullpen they got is really strong.”

Acuña and Riley continued their excellent play in the opening frame. Acuña is slashing .632/.650/1.000 (12-for-19), including four doubles and one home run, has scored seven runs and has stolen three bases in the first inning. Riley is slashing .611/.600/1.333 (11-for-18) and has logged four home runs, seven runs and nine RBIs.

Both are league leaders when it comes to setting the tone in the first inning -- Riley has the most home runs and RBIs, while Acuna has the most doubles and stolen bases.

“Ronald is a generational player,” Riley said. “He's unbelievable, and he's healthy … We're just playing our game. We come to work every day, we work hard, and [we’re] just trying to do our best.”