Braves’ Elder shuts down Marlins

ATLANTA — Travis d’Arnaud hit his fifth home run in four games and Bryce Elder pitched 6 2/3 spotless innings in his return from the minors as the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 3-0 on Monday night.

David Fletcher capped a three-run fourth with an RBI single to help the Braves win for the seventh time in eight games.

Recalled from TripleA Gwinnett earlier in the day, Elder (1-0) scattered eight hits in his first major league start this season. The righthander struck out four and walked none.

Elder was picked for the NL All-Star team last year, when he made 31 starts for Atlanta and finished 12-4 with a 3.81 ERA. But he struggled in the second half, got hit hard in his lone playoff appearance against Philadelphia and began the 2024 season in the minors.

Pierce Johnson got one out and A.J. Minter pitched the eighth. Raisel Iglesias worked a perfect ninth for his seventh save in seven chances, finishing an eight-hitter that marked Atlanta’s first shutout of the season.

Ryan Weathers (2-2) gave up three runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out one and walked three.

In the fourth, d’Arnaud launched a two-run homer to open the scoring. He hit three home runs Friday, another on Saturday and one on Monday — all in a span of eight at-bats.

The catcher added a single Monday, after his previous five hits were home runs.

Ronald Acuña Jr. singled and stole second in the first inning, his 190th career steal. That set an Atlanta-era record for the Braves, surpassing Rafael Furcal. Herman Long holds the franchise mark with 434.

Elder gave up three hits in the first inning, but some poor baserunning by Luis Arraez cost the Marlins a run. Elder ended the second and sixth with double plays as he kept all nine Marlins baserunners he allowed from scoring.

UP NEXT

Braves LHP Max Fried (1-0, 7.71 ERA) will face Marlins LHP Trevor Rogers (0-2, 3.92) in the middle game of the series Tuesday.