ATLANTA -- Bryce Elder earned his 2023 All-Star selection, and he is a major reason why the Braves own baseball’s best record. But a second straight ugly start for him strengthens the argument that acquiring a starting pitcher is Atlanta’s most significant Trade Deadline need.  

Even before Elder was chased during the third inning of a 16-13 loss to the D-backs on Tuesday night, there were concerns about the back end of the Braves’ rotation. Those concerns grew as his rocky outing squandered Austin Riley’s two-homer performance and Atlanta’s latest five-run first inning.

“It was just one of those games, that’s all,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We’re not going to be perfect every time.”

There were too many unique events to chalk this up as just one of those days for the Braves, who lost a third consecutive game for the first time since May 14. 

• This was just the seventh time in the Modern Era that the Braves lost a game while scoring at least 13 runs. The most recent occurrence had been July 15, 1990, when rookie first baseman David Justice and veteran outfielder Dale Murphy both homered in a 16-14 loss to the Expos.  

• The Braves produced their fifth five-run first inning of the season. No other team entered Tuesday with more than two. But the Braves have lost two of these games, with the first setback coming during the Elly De La Cruz cycle game in Cincinnati on June 23. 

• Riley finally seemed to begin one of his usual July surges by tallying a career-high seven RBIs. He’s the first Braves player to drive in this many runs in a losing cause and the first MLB player to do so since Shohei Ohtani on June 21, 2022.

So this seemed to be more than just one of those nights for the Braves and Elder, who allowed seven runs (five earned) and seven hits over just 2 2/3 innings. His performance set the tone during this wild game, which was decided when Kirby Yates allowed a game-tying run in the eighth and closer Raisel Iglesias allowed three runs while recording just one out in the ninth.

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Not all of the blame could be placed on the pitchers. Matt Olson missed a grounder in the ninth, and Sean Murphy made an errant throw that allowed the speedy Corbin Carroll to reach third base on a strikeout in the second. They weren’t the only All-Stars who made mistakes. Elder said what upset him was stopping as he went to cover first on Alek Thomas’ grounder to Ozzie Albies in Arizona’s five-run second.

When Elder was named to the National League’s All-Star team on July 2, he led the NL with a 2.44 ERA. He limited the Guardians to two runs over 6 2/3 innings the next day. But he has allowed 12 earned runs while totaling just six innings over his past two starts.  

“Things are going to happen, and it’s just unfortunate that these are back to back,” Elder said. “But I’ll be ready to get back out there in five days.” 

Elder’s critics will point out that a regression was bound to happen. He entered this start with a 4.04 expected ERA and just one strikeout over his past 10 innings.

Still, even if Elder is experiencing some regression, he could still be valuable for the Braves down the stretch. His past two starts have just highlighted the uncertainty at the back end of the rotation.  

Max Fried could be back in Atlanta’s rotation by the end of the month. It remains to be seen whether he has completely distanced himself from the left forearm strain that has sidelined him since early May. But if keeping a glass-half-full approach, the Braves can plan for him to join Charlie Morton and Spencer Strider as the rotation anchors over the season’s final two months. 

Elder and Michael Soroka are capable of filling the final two rotation spots once Fried returns. But Soroka is still trying to prove he can be reliable after twice tearing his right Achilles tendon. The Braves have also tried to be careful with his innings as he progresses through a full season for the first time since 2019.  

AJ Smith-Shawver, Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd are potential rotation fillers. But just to protect themselves down the stretch, the Braves may be wise to get an experienced arm before the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline passes.