Bryce Elder looked really good in the first two innings. Four strikeouts and no hard contact gave Braves’ fans hope the guy from the first half of the season had re-appeared just when they needed him most.
Then the third inning happened.
After his offense spotted him a 1-0 lead in the top of the third, Elder started the bottom half by giving up a solo home run to Nick Castellanos. It was the third straight homer for Castellanos against Elder, dating back to their September matchup, and the game was tied 1-1. Then the next hitter, Brandon Marsh, roped a single to right. There should’ve been alarm bells going off throughout the Braves’ dugout, especially given Elder’s rough second half and the…
