Red Sox serve Bryce Elder, Braves a harsh reminder

The Braves failed in all three phases on Wednesday night against the Red Sox. The offense was shut out as they continue to struggle to find consistent success with Drake Baldwin out of the lineup, and Bryce Elder delivered his worst performance of the season — aided by a rare critical error from first baseman Matt Olson.

A case could be made that Bryce Elder has been the surprise of the entire league this season. A man who didn’t even have a guaranteed spot on the Opening Day roster entering Spring Training, he came into last night’s game with a sub-2.00 ERA over his first eleven starts.

And even after that gaudy performance — 3.1 innings, 6 runs, 9 hits, 1 strikeout — a 2.50 ERA is nothing to scoff at. He’s been remarkable through the first two months thanks to a number of adjustments, but that doesn’t mean anything is guaranteed for him the rest of the way.

The Braves have flexed their pitching depth all season. They started the year with Spencer Strider, AJ Smith-Shawver, Hurston Waldrep, and Spencer Schwellenbach all on the IL — an entire, really good major-league rotation. Yet they still have one of the best ERAs of any starting staff in baseball.

Strider has since returned, which bumped Reynaldo Lopez to the bullpen, and the other three are on their way back as well. When that happens, this will become a logjam of epic proportions.

That isn’t to say Bryce Elder can’t be part of a fully healthy Braves rotation — more so to point out that outside of Chris Sale, nothing is guaranteed for any of the remaining starting arms. Even Strider has a lot left to prove that he belongs in the rotation come season’s end.

It will be a non-stop competition for starts in Atlanta, and while that’s a good problem to have for the Braves, it could be a bloodbath for a lot of these guys who have been so critical to the club’s outstanding 37-19 start.

Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

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