Bryce Elder pitched well during Saturday night’s Grapefruit League start against the Red Sox, allowing just one run on one hit over five strong innings.
The 26-year-old right-hander piled up six strikeouts on the evening while issuing a pair of walks. The lone tally against him came as Braiden Ward plated a run with a fielder’s choice in the third inning. Aside from that, Elder was superb. He got nine swings and misses on 78 pitches in the contest, posting a CSW of 31 percent. For the spring, he now holds a 4.73 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and a 12/5 K/BB ratio over 13 1/3 innings. As is often the case, Elder is likely to occupy a spot in the Braves’ rotation to open the season due to the plethora of injuries they are once again dealing with.