ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves faced plenty of criticism after they failed to pick up a top-line starting pitcher at the trade deadline.
Bryce Elder and Grant Holmes have pitched like they didn’t need one.
Elder threw one-hit ball over seven innings Wednesday, a night after Holmes pitched six scoreless innings to lead a pair of victories over the Miami Marlins.
First-place Atlanta has won a season-high seven in a row and leads the Philadelphia Phillies by 8 1/2 games in the NL East.
“One of our messages to players, especially young players, is you’ve got to find something that puts a chip on your shoulder in this league or the rest of the league will chew you up,” manager Walt Weiss said after Elder’s sterling performance in a 4-1 victory. “Maybe that’s their response to the narrative over the last several days.”
The only hit off Elder was a soft liner that fell in front of left-fielder Lane Thomas and would up a double when Jakob Marsee hustled to second to beat the throw. Owen Caissie, who had walked with one out, raced around to third on the play, putting Elder is his first serious trouble of the night.
Joe Mack grounded out to drive in a run, but Elder retired Javier Sanoja on a flyout to end the threat.
That was it against Elder, who breezed through the next two innings with just one other base-runner on third baseman Austin Riley’s throwing error.
Mixing his cutter with a highly effective changeup, Elder turned in perhaps his most dominant start of the season and a big upgrade over a June slump that raised questions about his spot in the rotation.
After going 1-3 with an 8.10 ERA in that discouraging month, the right-hander has turned in four straight excellent starts, surrendering just five runs in 24 inning while posting a 3-0 record.
“That was probably the best command I’ve had in a long time,” said Elder (8-6), who was making the 100th start of his up-and-down career. “The changeup was really good. I was pleased with that. I like where I’m at.”
Elder made the All-Star Game during a surprising 2023 season, but he spent much of the following year in the minors. Lacking the sort of velocity that is the hallmark of today’s top pitchers, he’s always walked a fine line to maintain his effectiveness.
But the 27-year-old Texan never seems to get flustered, even when things aren’t going his way.
“He’s very level-headed,” Weiss said. “You can never tell if he’s dealing or he’s struggling. He’s literally the exact same guy. He’s a good thinker on the mound. He can put together a game plan. He knows how to execute pitches. He knows how to put together sequences. He’s got a good feel for the pitch. His velocity will fluctuate a little bit here and there, but it doesn’t really matter with him because of the movement and the command and the variety of pitches. He’s got a lot of pitches he can throw at you.”
Even so, the Braves were expected to make a strong bid for additional starting pitching ahead of Monday’s deadline. But the only newcomer to their rotation was Tyler Mahle from the Giants, a 31-year-old journeyman who is 3-9 with a 5.13 ERA this season.
He’ll go at the back end of a group that has faced big losses with Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach both likely to miss the rest of the season with injuries and Reynaldo López on the injured list.
Chris Sale, a Cy Young winner and 10-time All-Star, is the only big name among the starters, with Elder, Holmes and Martín Pérez filling the other spots, joined by a host of youngsters still trying to make their mark.
Elder shook off the disgruntled fans and unimpressed pundits who figured the Braves would make a bigger splash on the trade market.
“We heard what people said the last week or so,” he said. “But all we can do is control what he can control. Our job is to give these guys a chance to score some runs, and keep it close enough so that when they do score runs, we win ballgames.”
For the last two games at least, that plan has worked to perfection.
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