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The Atlanta Braves suffered a brutal blow on multiple fronts Friday night, as a disastrous outing from Bryce Elder compounded the team’s ongoing rotation concerns in the wake of the Chris Sale injury. In a 13-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, Elder allowed nine earned runs in just two innings in a performance that underscored Atlanta’s lack of pitching depth following Sale’s absence.
A lengthy two-hour rain delay pushed the start time back at Truist Park in Atlanta, but that wasn’t the only storm the Braves would endure. The 26-year-old Elder, who was already on thin ice after back-to-back rocky outings, delivered one of the worst starts of his MLB career. He became just the third Braves pitcher ever to allow nine earned runs in two innings or fewer.
The timing couldn’t be worse. The Sale injury — a fractured rib cage suffered on June 18th while diving for a ball — has left a glaring hole in the Braves rotation. Sale had posted a stellar 2.52 ERA with 114 strikeouts across 15 starts and appeared to be in peak form before being sidelined. Though Atlanta expects him to return later in the 2025 season, there is currently no firm timetable.
As Elder melted down, so too did Atlanta’s once-formidable rotation. With Sale out, the team is relying on a mix of Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Grant Holmes, and 20-year-old Didier Fuentes — a group long on potential but short on consistency. Elder’s Friday night outing sent shockwaves through the organization and exposed the limits of Atlanta’s rotation depth.
Manager Brian Snitker addressed the rotation shake-up post game in comments published by MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.
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“[Strider] is getting his thing together and the other guys, and then you lose a guy like that,” Snitker said. “It’s hard. You can’t replace Chris Sale.”
Elder himself echoed those sentiments.
“I don’t think [Sale] is one of those guys who is replaceable,” Elder said. “We’ve got to pick up what we can. It’s tough to replace him, but you’ve got to do better than that.”
Sale’s absence not only disrupts the staff but also potentially affects the NL East standings. The Braves are still within striking distance of the division lead, but a spiraling rotation threatens to derail their postseason hopes unless reinforcements arrive or current arms step up fast.
Atlanta’s gamble on the 36-year-old's health has become a primary storyline for the club this season. Now, without him and with Elder faltering, the Braves may need to consider external help or risk falling out of contention.
