NORTH PORT, Fla. — Bryce Elder helped keep the Braves’ recent run of strong starting pitching success going with five solid innings Saturday at CoolToday Park.
Elder, Didier Fuentes, Grant Holmes, Spencer Strider and JR Ritchie have combined to allow just three earned runs over the last 21 innings. That quintet has totaled 27 strikeouts while giving up just four combined hits. Elder’s only hit allowed Saturday was a leadoff double in the top of the second that Braves right fielder Mike Yastrzemski lost in the sun.
“I’ve always taken a little bit to get rolling (in spring training) so I thought today, outside of kind of the bumpy first two hitters of the third, I thought it was pretty clean,” Elder said. “I thought my tempo and everything and my timing down the mound was good, so I was pleased with it.”
Elder walked the first two hitters he faced in the third, which came back to bite him. Vinny Capra scored for the Red Sox on a fielder’s choice later in the inning.
The right-handed Elder, however, retired the next seven he faced and ended his night with a strikeout of Tsung-Che Cheng, Elder’s sixth strikeout of the night.
Elder got nine swings and misses and threw a first-pitch strike on 13 of the 17 batters he faced.
“Just kind of made guys swing and kind of forced them to go,” Elder added. “Obviously, not getting behind is important and that showed tonight.”
Elder’s outing came on the heels of Fuentes’ strong three innings Friday against the Yankees. One of the Braves’ top pitching prospects, he logged three hitless innings and struck out five.
It was Fuentes’ second outing of the spring and his first start. After mostly featuring his fastball March 7 against the Orioles, Fuentes mixed in a slider (12 times) and a change-up (five times) on Friday.
“It was a good showing, really good showing for him,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said Saturday. “You got a fastball like that, that’s lively, and then that slider — we’ve seen what (Spencer) Strider could do with those two pitches. I mean, I’m not saying the kid’s ready to do that, but you can kind of see what his potential could be.
“There’s no better feedback than the feedback you get from hitters when you’re a pitcher. Obviously, that’s better feedback than the (technology). The hitters let you know what works and what doesn’t. To his credit, and ‘Hef’ (pitching coach Jeremy Hefner) and (Braves bullpen coach) J.P. Martinez, they went back to the drawing board and to come up with a little different breaking ball, a little different change-up. And I think that’s good. That’s going to work out well for him.”
At 1 p.m. Sunday, Ritchie is scheduled to start a matchup with the Phillies in Clearwater, Florida, looking to keep the Braves’ run of solid starting pitching trended upward.
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