Elder's eighth quality start of 2026 drops his ERA to 1.97

ATLANTA -- Chris Sale is an early Cy Young Award favorite and Spencer Strider is once again pitching like a frontline starter. As for Bryce Elder, he has positioned himself to earn his second All-Star selection within a span of four seasons.

Elder allowed just one run on five hits and one walk over six innings and gave the Braves a chance to claim their exciting 5-4 win over the Nationals in 11 innings on Friday night at Truist Park. He lowered his ERA to 1.97 and legitimized a dominant stretch that goes back to August.

“He's a really good pitcher, and he's got a plan,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “He knows what he wants to do, and he's executing it with multiple pitches. He's been outstanding.”

Curtis Mead’s leadoff homer in the sixth accounted for the only run Elder allowed. The 27-year-old hurler ranks seventh in the Majors in ERA through his 11 starts. This marks just the 10th time since 2000 that a Braves pitcher has notched a sub-2.00 ERA through the first 11 starts of a season. Elder is the only pitcher to account for two of these instances. He had a 1.92 ERA through the first 11 starts of his 2023 All-Star season.

“He’s amazing, but honestly, for me, it's expected,” Braves catcher Chadwick Tromp said. “Why? Because of the prep that he puts in. I mean, he’s one of the best competitors I've seen. I've seen him since before he got to the big leagues. It's been the same preparation. His mind is very sharp, and he believed in his stuff.”

Given Elder wasn’t assured a rotation spot at the start of Spring Training, his early-season success can be considered a surprise. But it’s not like he came out of nowhere. The evolution of a cutter Greg Maddux helped create and some biomechanical fixes have helped the right-hander allow three earned runs or fewer over at least six innings in six of his final seven starts last year.

Elder has a 2.30 ERA over 18 starts going back to Aug. 24. The only qualified pitchers with a better ERA during this span are the Yankees’ Cam Schlittler (1.93), the Phillies' Cristopher Sánchez (1.99), the Pirates’ Paul Skenes (2.03) and Sale (2.20).

Sale is tied for fifth in the Majors with a 1.89 ERA, and the Braves rank third with a 3.04 starting pitching ERA. Strider missed the season’s first month because of a left oblique strain suffered near the end of Spring Training. But in his past three starts, he has looked more like the guy who led the Majors in strikeouts from 2022-23.

The Braves own MLB’s best record (36-16), and with Sale, Strider and Elder, they possess the kind of impact starters that can make a difference when October arrives.

“You look at any team that's having a good year, it's because they're pitching well for the most part,” Weiss said. “To do it all year and go deep in October, you’ve got to do everything well. But you’ve got to pitch well to win the season.”