Braves right-hander Bryce Elder will put his unbeaten record against the Colorado Rockies on the line Friday when the teams open a three-game series in Atlanta.
The Braves return home after winning two of three games at Milwaukee, which followed a seven-game losing streak. Atlanta is nine games under .500.
The Rockies had lost five in a row before coming back to score three times in the ninth inning Thursday to beat the visiting San Francisco Giants 8-7 and avoid a three-game sweep. Colorado’s record of 13-55 matches the 1932 Boston Red Sox for the worst 68-game start to a season in the modern era (since 1901).
The weekend set will be the second series this season between the teams. Atlanta won two of three games in Denver in late April.
Elder (2-3, 4.08 ERA) will be opposed by German Marquez (2-8, 7.00) in the opener.
Elder owns three wins and a 4.00 ERA in three career starts against the Rockies. He beat Colorado on April 28 after a six-inning stint in which he permitted three runs and five hits.
The right-hander is coming off his best start of the season on Saturday in San Francisco despite settling for a no-decision. He pitched eight innings and allowed one run on three hits and no walks while logging a career-high 12 strikeouts.
It was the deepest he has pitched in a game since throwing a six-hit shutout on Sept. 26, 2022, against the Washington Nationals. It was the seventh straight start in which Elder allowed three or fewer runs, yet the Braves would up losing 3-2.
“He did everything in his power to kind of will us to win the game,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “And we couldn’t.”
Marquez coming off a loss to the New York Mets on Saturday. He pitched five-plus innings and allowed four runs on eight hits — three of them home runs — with three strikeouts in an 8-1 loss.
“I felt good with everything,” Marquez said afterward. “But I just missed two pitches — two solo homers — and I didn’t walk anybody.”
Marquez was shelled by the Braves when he faced them on April 29, allowing seven runs on 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings. In five career starts against Atlanta, he is 1-3 with a 7.67 ERA. He is 1-4 with an 8.82 ERA on the road this year, compared to a 1-4 mark with a 4.91 ERA at home.
The game will be a homecoming for Colorado’s Orlando Arcia, who was released by the Braves on May 25 after serving as their starting shortstop for two-plus seasons. In nine games with the Rockies, Arcia is batting .200 (6-for-30), but he delivered a two-out, two-run single in the ninth to beat the Giants on Thursday.
“It was a big game for us,” Arcia said. “We’re going to go out there and compete and we have the enthusiasm to keep competing. No matter what the score is, we’re going to keep fighting. I’m glad to be a part of that.”
Colorado rookie Ryan Ritter went 1-for-4 with a two-run single on Thursday, and he has hit safely in his first six games. It’s the longest hitting streak by a Rockies player to begin a major league career since David Dahl’s 17-game streak in 2016.
–Field Level Media
