SEATTLE -- Whenever Bryce Elder has been asked whether he’s pitching better than he did during his 2023 All-Star season, he talks about how he didn’t really know what he was doing three years ago.
As for whenever he has stepped on the mound this year, Elder has performed like an elite-level hurler who has come to understand what he needs to do to be successful for many years to come.
Elder delivered another strong start and Matt Olson hit a go-ahead, ninth-inning homer that gave the Braves a 3-2 win over the Mariners on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Park. Olson’s leadoff homer off Andrés Muñoz was his National League-leading 13th home run of the season.
Josh Naylor’s second-inning single and J.P. Crawford’s two-run homer in the third inning accounted for the only two hits allowed by Elder, who recorded a season-high nine strikeouts over six innings. The Braves hurler ranks eighth in the Majors among qualified pitchers with a 2.02 ERA.
This is the 14th time going back to 2000 that a Braves pitcher has posted a 2.02 ERA or better through the first eight starts of a season. Elder accounts for two of those 14 instances. He had a 1.94 ERA through his first eight starts of 2023.
The Mariners whiffed with 17 of 48 (35%) swings vs. Elder. That matches the second-highest total of whiffs he's recorded in a game and it's his third highest whiff rate in a game.