The Braves were hoping Bryce Elder could lead the way to tying the four game series and crucially eat some innings, with the Monday double-header looming.
Things did not go according to plan in the top of the first, as Bryce Elder got the first two outs without issue but then ran into serious trouble. He walked the third batter, allowed a home run, and then three consecutive singles before recording the final out of the inning, leaving the score at 3-0 Padres. He was a bit unlucky on one of the singles in particular, but when you don’t strike people out (as is Elder’s profile), you are going to live and die by the BABIP variance. The crime for Elder, as is often the case when he struggles, was issuing the walk. Importantly, Elder also needed 41 pitches to get through the one inning, the first inning of 27 (at least) over 48 hours.
The Braves’ only baserunner of the bottom of the frame came from Marcell Ozuna squeaking a ball inside the third baseline for a double. Elder got himself into trouble again in the second, walking the leadoff batter and allowing a Luis Arraez classic single. He recorded two outs and walked Cronenworth before escaping with a Machado groundout. Orlando Arcia gave the Braves another baserunner with a leadoff single that was just snagged by Machado, saving the double and setting up the subsequent double-play from Harris started by Machado, ending the only Atlanta threat of the inning.
