ATLANTA -- Bryce Elder gave the Braves what they needed, and the two-out, two-run homer he allowed in the eighth inning of a 3-2 loss to the Red Sox on Saturday night would have been inconsequential had the Atlanta offense performed like it regularly has while totaling MLB’s second-most runs thus far.
But had the Braves’ bullpen not been shorthanded, would the result have been different?
There’s a good chance the Braves could have preserved the 2-1 lead they gained in the fifth had they had their three All-Star caliber relievers -- Dylan Lee, Robert Suarez and Raisel Iglesias -- available. The trio has combined to allow three earned runs over 54 1/3 innings.
But Iglesias threw 20 pitches in Friday night’s 10-inning win and Suarez threw 21. Lee threw just 10, but like Iglesias, he had pitched three of the previous four days. There was a need to keep at least one of these high-leverage options available for Sunday’s afternoon game.
“It’s a product of winning a lot of games,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “When you win a lot of close games, that’s when you use the back end of your ‘pen. You can only do it so often. Then, these guys need a reset.”
So, with his pitch count at 89, Elder was sent back to the mound to protect a one-run lead in the eighth. He had pitched into the eighth inning three previous times in his career (Sept. 26, 2022; May 30, 2023; and June 7, 2025). Plus, even after allowing the Red Sox three runs over eight innings in this tough loss, he owns MLB’s fifth-best ERA (2.35) going back to Aug. 24 of last year.
It wasn’t like Weiss was looking for a miracle. Elder surrendered a two-out double to Wilyer Abreu and got ahead of Willson Contreras 0-2 before Boston’s first baseman golfed a below-the-zone slider over the left-field wall for a go-ahead homer.
Elder was one pitch away from preventing the evening’s focus from shifting to the bullpen’s construction.
“Once he got the first two outs, he was going to go through Contreras,” Weiss said. “At that point, just unfortunate that, the ball left the yard.”
Martín Pérez was tentatively scheduled to start Monday’s series opener in Miami. That plan was erased when Didier Fuentes ended up throwing the final inning of Friday night’s 10-inning win. Fuentes had been lined up to serve as a long relief option on Saturday or Sunday.
Weiss’ decision to chase a win with Fuentes on Friday was the correct one. But this forced him to have Pérez warm up in Saturday’s seventh inning and then pitch the ninth. His appearance has erased his availability to start Monday. The Braves are still discussing their rotation plans for the series in Miami.
JR Ritchie would be available to start Monday. But unless Pérez becomes an option to start Tuesday, that would lead to Chris Sale and Spencer Strider making their next starts on four days’ rest. If the Braves want both to get extra rest, Fuentes could be used as a starter on Monday or Tuesday. But his recent work as a reliever might limit his pitch count to 50-60 pitches.
Fuentes has been incredibly valuable while allowing just two earned runs in the 13 2/3 innings he has completed in seven relief appearances this year. The 20-year-old has been given a chance to learn at the MLB level and also limit some wear and tear on his young arm.
But the bullpen’s construction creates reason to ask if simultaneously carrying both Fuentes and former starter Reynaldo López as relievers will increase the number of nights when the bullpen is short.
“I don't think that's hamstringing us,” Weiss said. “[On Sunday] we’ll have Reynaldo for multiple innings. So, it's nice to have a couple guys down there that can [throw multiple innings]. I don't think it's working against us right now.”
Sunday’s scheduled starter, Grant Holmes, has completed fewer than five innings in three of his past five starts. Ritchie has made just four career starts and has issued 13 walks over his past 14 2/3 innings.
So, the rotation’s current makeup creates a need for multiple long relief options. But carrying multiple long relievers can occasionally leave the bullpen short. The Braves just hope it happens on a night when the offense is capable of covering up the ‘pen.