The 27-year-old right-hander allowed a single earned run across seven innings in the Atlanta Braves' matchup against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.
The Atlanta Braves continue to wreak havoc in the NL East, ranking first in the division while going 69-45 overall and possessing an 8.5-game advantage over the Philadelphia Phillies. Moreover, Atlanta has held the second-best record in MLB after the 72-43 Milwaukee Brewers.
On Wednesday, the Braves sustained that success against the rival Miami Marlins, earning their seventh-straight victory as starting right-hander Bryce Elder struck out three batters while surrendering just one earned run through seven innings of action on the mound.
Following the game, Elder expressed confidence in his changeup and improved command.
"I was happy with that," he said, according to MLB.com. "I think that's probably the best command I've had in a long time. My changeup was really good. I was pleased with it. I like where I am."
The changeup came into play early on as Elder got Kyle Stowers to chase on an 86-mph pitch below the knees in the first inning, leaving the Marlins with one out remaining.
Elder would turn to the changeup once again in the second to get Griffin Conine looking after a four-pitch at-bat as a scoreless stalemate ensued. Eventually, Austin Riley broke the ice that same inning with a ground rule double to bring home Ozzie Albies for the Braves' first run of the game.
Drake Baldwin joined in on the action with an RBI single, driving in Mauricio Dubón and Riley for a 3-0 lead over Miami.
Elder would continue to hold on in the third as an RBI single by Dubón allowed Michael Harris II to score the Braves' fourth run of the matchup.
Owen Caissie spoiled a potential Elder shutout in the fifth, coming in to score off a groundout by Joe Mack. Nonetheless, Elder kept the door shut through the seventh as the Marlins could not create much traffic on the basepaths.
Relievers Dylan Dodd and Didier Fuentes backed Elder the rest of the way for a commanding victory over an NL East foe that saw contributions from every facet of the team.
Elder would also earn his eighth win of the season, improving to 8-6 overall. He has also compiled a 3.69 ERA and 1.20 WHIP while striking out 104 batters in 126.2 innings pitched so far.
Elder had a similar outing in Atlanta's 6-2 victory over the Washington Nationals on July 31. Despite allowing four hits, he limited the damage to a single earned run and recorded three punchouts as well.
This positive trajectory comes following a shaky start to the season in which Elder frequently allowed baserunners and struggled to strike hitters out. Most notably, he yielded six hits and three earned runs while fanning just two batters in the Braves' 8-5 loss to Philadelphia in extra innings.
Now, Elder will look to keep up the momentum in his next start which will most likely be at some point during next week's series against the New York Mets.
"We heard what people said the last week or so," he told ESPN. "But all we can do is control what we can control. Our job is to give these guys a chance to score some runs, and keep it close enough so that when they do score runs, we win ballgames."
