The Atlanta Braves haven’t lost a season series to the Miami Marlins since 2014.
And the Braves will recall a fresh pitcher from the minor leagues to begin their three-game home set against their National League East rivals on Monday night.
Atlanta has summoned 24-year-old right-hander Bryce Elder from Triple-A Gwinnett to make his season debut. He will be opposed by Miami left-hander Ryan Weathers (2-1, 2.70).
The Braves were 9-4 against Miami last season and took two of three games from the Marlins in Miami earlier this month.
Elder was an All-Star last year but lost the battle in spring training with Reynaldo Lopez for the job as the No. 5 starter. Elder started three games for Gwinnett and went 2-0 with a 3.31 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings.
To make room for Elder, the Braves optioned Sunday starter Darius Vines to Triple-A.
“(Elder) was scheduled to start on Sunday for Gwinnett, and they got rained out,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “So we’re going to bring him up.”
Elder was 12-4 with a 3.81 ERA in 2023, his first full season in the major leagues. He started 31 games and pitched 174 2/3 innings.
Elder has made seven career starts against Miami, going 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA. He was 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA in three starts against the Marlins in 2023.
Weathers will make his fifth appearance of the season and has won his last two starts. In his most recent outing, on Tuesday against the San Francisco Giants, Weathers struck out a career-high 10 batters and allowed two runs on five hits in six innings.
“I think that’s the best command I’ve ever probably had in a big-league atmosphere,” he said. “To be able to do that was very positive.”
Weathers could have gone longer but was removed at the start of the seventh inning when his left hand began to tighten.
“I threw a pitch, and both my fingers stayed down,” Weathers said. “It felt like a cramp, and then I threw another one and the fingers went down again. I was like, ‘Now is not the time to be cramping.’ But I’m just thankful it was just a cramp.”
Weathers has made two appearances (one start) against the Braves in his career, going 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA. In that lone start in 2023, he allowed two runs on six hits, two walks and five strikeouts in a 2-0 loss.
Bryan De La Cruz has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games and has hits in 19 of the Marlins’ 23 games. He had an eight-game hitting streak end in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs.
Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna hit a three-run shot on Sunday and leads the major leagues with nine homers and 27 RBIs. But first baseman Matt Olson continues to struggle. He struck out four times on Sunday and is mired in an 0-for-18 slump. Olson hasn’t homered since April 7.
Atlanta had its six-game winning streak halted on Sunday but took two of three games from the Texas Rangers. Miami is coming off a four-game series split against the Cubs.
–Field Level Media
