The first inning continues to be a thorn in the side of Atlanta Braves starter Bryce Elder. In four of his last six starts in the Majors, the opponents have put up at least one run in the first inning against the right-hander.
A couple times, he’s escaped the jam while giving up just a run. Other time times, the Braves have found themselves down 3-0 early. In those starts, regardless of how many scores, those will be all the runs the opposing bats can get against him. After that, he settles in and it’s goose eggs until he’s done for the day.
Elder kept his thoughts on his performance early in games straight. Pitching in the Majors is a different animal and he needs to do better.
“This is not an excuse at all, but pitching in Triple-A is just different,” Elder said. “It’s the same game, absolutely. But your lines are different. Your feelings are different. You got more adrenaline, and like I said, it’s not an excuse at all. I got to get the job done.”
He said it takes that first inning to get things figured out. When it clicks, he’s on, but it needs to come quicker.
“I felt like, in the first, I wasn’t in a rhythm at all, and I settled in and made some good pitches. But I got to do better in the first.”
Elder finished with 5 1/3 innings pitched with the three earned runs allowed on six hits and three walks while striking out four.
While it was a shaky return for Elder, he left the game with the Braves arguably in a spot to win the game. They trailed 3-1. It was no insurmountable feat to come back. One rally where they broke through could have changed things and made those first-inning woes less significant. It had happened before. Ultimately, the Braves couldn’t make it happen, and they lost to the Boston Red Sox by that score. All runs came in the first inning for both teams.
It can also be argued going down 3-0 changes the scope of the ballgame and the approach at the plate. Baseball is funny that way.
Regardless of how you view it, Elder is looking to find some combination of the two. He wants to do his part and do it well.
“All I’m worried about is my next start and trying to rev off a handful of innings in a row,” he said. “Hoping just going out there and making pitches and giving the team the chance to win.”
