Walt Weiss Praises Bryce Elder's Resilient Outing Against Diamondbacks

The Atlanta Braves had a lot to celebrate about their 5-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, including Matt Olson's tie-breaking three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning that put the team ahead 5-2. However, the Braves getting into a position where they were able to take back control of the driver's seat could not have been possible without the grit that starting right-hander Bryce Elder displayed on the mound. Through six innings of work, the 27-year-old struck out five batters while surrendering just four hits and a single earned run. Following the matchup, Braves manager Walt Weiss praised Elder for his durability and warrior-like mentality. "Bryce did an outstanding job," Weiss said, according to MLB.com. "He's been fighting through some knee stuff and not enough to make him miss a start, but he's been fighting through and you tip your cap to him because he continues to take the ball and he's been very durable." Elder was efficient at inducing weak contact, generating flyouts from Geraldo Perdomo, Gabriel Moreno and Ketel Marte in the first and only allowing a single by Corbin Carroll.  The Diamondbacks continued to struggle with finding an answer for Elder in the second as he got Max Kepler out looking while generating another flyout from Nolan Arenado and a groundout from Tim Tawa.  Elder held on in the third as well, paving the way for Drake Baldwin to give Atlanta their first lead of the game with an RBI single that drove in Dominic Smith. Nonetheless, Moreno answered back with a solo homer in the fourth to left field to tie the matchup at 1-1. Arizona would also press Elder in the fifth, creating some traffic on the basepaths as Tawa drew a walk and advanced to second base off a bunt by James McCann who safely reached first. Jorge Barrosa joined in on the action with a bunt of his own to get Tawa to third and McCann to second.  Still, Elder prevailed as Perdomo grounded into a fielder's choice that also got Tawa out at home while Carroll lined out to end the rally.  The Diamondbacks refused to go out quietly even after Elder's removal from the game and Olson's monster hit as Marte scored Arizona's third run of the game in the ninth off a groundout by Tawa. Besides Sunday, Elder put up another strong start against the NL East rival Miami Marlins on Aug. 5, recording three punchouts and giving up one earned run across seven innings of action as Atlanta took a commanding 4-1 victory. Elder should get his next opportunity to shine during the Braves' upcoming series next week against the buzzsaw Milwaukee Brewers who hold the best record in MLB, having gone 77-48 on the season.