ATLANTA -- Bryce Elder has a sub-1.00 ERA through four starts and Chris Sale’s 37-year-old arm remains one of baseball’s best. As for Reynaldo López and Grant Holmes, they have both remained healthy.
With four starting pitchers on the injured list, the Braves still have some depth concerns. But after Elder guided them to a 6-3 win over the Marlins on Wednesday night at Truist Park, they lead the National League with a 2.84 starting pitching ERA.
“The first couple years here, it felt like every day you’d roll up to the field just expecting to win,” Elder said. “Last year, it didn’t feel like that at all.”
Three weeks into this season, it seems like this year could feel much different. There’s an expectation that Dominic Smith might do what he did on Tuesday night, when he delivered a go-ahead three-run double with two outs in the eighth inning of a thrilling win.
Elder ranks third in the Majors with a 0.77 ERA. He joins Hurston Waldrep (2025), López (2024), Max Fried (2023), Aaron Harang (2014), John Smoltz (2008), Tim Hudson (2007) and John Thomson (2006) as the only Braves pitchers to produce a sub-1.00 ERA through their first four starts over the past 20 years. Waldrep is the only member of this group whose streak didn’t begin at the start of a season.
The good news is Elder’s success isn’t necessarily a surprise. He completed at least six innings and allowed three runs or fewer in six of his final seven starts last year. He has a 2.12 ERA over the 11 starts he has made going back to Aug. 24.
“When you start to win games and you start to win series, you start to believe,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “I go back to the stuff I was saying in Spring Training and at the end of camp. It’s just a really good vibe and the guys have a really good look in their eyes. They're playing that way.”
It’s far too early to think health-related concerns about Atlanta’s rotation were overblown. But three weeks into the season, there’s reason to feel better about this group of starters, each of whom will make their next start with an extra day of rest.
Needing to protect their bullpen depth this past weekend, the Braves took a chance by designating Martín Pérez for assignment on Sunday. The veteran lefty passed through waivers, elected free agency and rejoined the Braves with a Minor League contract on Wednesday.
Perez is expected to be added to Atlanta’s roster in time to start Friday night’s series opener in Philadelphia. As long as he remains effective, the 34-year-old hurler could make three starts before the Braves will need to find a rotation spot for Spencer Strider, who will likely remain on a rehab assignment through the end of this month.