Bryce Elder goes six strong in win vs. Nationals

He didn’t throw at 100 percent, but he said his knee held up fine. He’s hoping to be ready to contribute in the postseason.

Elder is walking without a limp, and it sounds like there are plans in place to allow him to do some throwing as he continues to recover. He’s not expected to return to pitch in any regular season games.

We knew this was coming after Elder had surgery on Tuesday that will require a 3-4 week recovery. Elder hopes to return for the postseason, but it remains to be seen what his role would be if he does return, given his layoff and the Braves not needing five starters for a postseason series.

Weiss added that Elder will require a 3-4 week recovery timetable and could potentially return during the playoffs. The 27-year-old was expected to be bumped from Atlanta’s rotation with Reynaldo López returning from the injured list later this week. He’ll finish the regular season with a respectable 4.11 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 121/49 K/BB ratio across 149 innings over 26 starts. He’ll factor into Atlanta’s pitching plans at some point in the postseason, but he can be safely dropped in all fantasy formats.

It’s a favorable spot for López against a contact-oriented Tampa Bay lineup as he returns to Atlanta’s rotation for his first start since July 27. The 32-year-old has been on the shelf with knee inflammation for just over six weeks. He struck out six, while throwing 93 pitches, over five shutout innings in his final minor league rehab start for Triple-A Gwinnett last Thursday. He’ll slot into the Braves’ rotation with Bryce Elder moving to the bullpen temporarily due to ongoing knee issues.

Bryce Elder, who allowed five runs in 5 1/3 innings on Monday and has a 6.45 ERA over his last four starts, will see his next start pushed back a few days. Given that it was slated to come against the Phillies, that’s probably welcome news for those still relying on Elder.

Elder surrendered eight hits, including home runs to Rafael Devers and Osleivis Basabe. He finished with three strikeouts and also issued three walks. It was the second time in his last four starts that he’s allowed five runs or more. It qualifies as a massive letdown considering the lackluster makeup of San Francisco’s lineup after he tossed six strong frames against the Dodgers last week. He won’t get the ball again until he faces the Phillies in a road matchup next Monday with Atlanta moving to a six-man rotation.

Elder struck out five and walked none. He allowed eight hits, but all of them were singles. Elder was half-skipped in the rotation again last week, making the start tonight on eight days’ rest. He also pitched on 11 days’ rest in his final start before the break and 10 days’ rest in his first start after the break. It suggests he’s not quite 100 percent and hasn’t been for some time. However, he’s been more effective than not lately. He’ll take a 3.95 ERA into his next start, whenever that might come; the Braves probably won’t pitch him Sunday and they have next Monday and Thursday off, so they could give Elder another long rest if they’d like.

Elder struck out five and walked one as Atlanta went on to win 5-3. The right-hander needed just 75 pitches to record 18 outs, but he’d struggled badly lately, so it makes sense that he wasn’t pushed. He came into Sunday with a 6.29 ERA over his previous 12 starts dating back to May 27. This was a step in the right direction, but there’s little reason for fantasy managers to trust him, with a trip to Milwaukee up next.

Give Elder some credit: he looked like he ought to have been done after throwing 77 pitches while giving up five in the first and one more in both the second and third, but he was able to help protect the pen by pitching two scoreless innings afterwards. It’s the third time this year that Elder has allowed at least six earned runs, and two of those have come in his only two starts versus the Mets. He’ll take an 8-7 record and a 4.03 ERA into a start Sunday against the D-backs.