The Braves play the Red Sox only six times in the 2026 regular season, with games spaced 11 days apart, which can make pitching matchups feel repetitive. Bryce Elder and Connelly Early both pitched in a recent Atlanta series, with Elder taking the Braves’ only loss after allowing a two-run homer in a 3-2 defeat, while Early pitched the day before in a 3-2 Braves win. Elder’s 2026 performance has improved, posting a 48/83/92 line after 11 starts. The key change is fewer homer-related damage, potentially from moving away from a grounder-at-all-costs approach, lowering HR/FB or reflecting a temporary mirage. Recent starts show strong control and limited walk issues, but homers have still occurred, including a costly homer versus Boston and another versus the Nationals. Fenway’s conditions may further influence outcomes.
"The Braves only play the Red Sox six times over the course of the 2026 regular season, but because those games are 11 days apart, the pitching matchups can feel a bit repetitive. Bryce Elder and Connelly Early didn't square off against one another two weekends ago in Atlanta, but each did pitch in that series. Elder took the hill in the Braves' sole loss, getting victimized by a turnaround two-run homer after being asked to wend his way through the Boston order a fourth time for some reason. The Braves lost that game 3-2; Early pitched the day before, in a 3-2 Braves win."
"Elder's pseudo-renaissance has been one of many positive stories for the Braves over the first two months of the 2026 season. His line now sits at 48/83/92 (ERA-/FIP-/xFIP-) after 11 starts. That's a marked improvement over any season he's had to date, but the biggest change from his recent history is that he hasn't been victimized by homers in the manner that they've plagued him earlier. While there are a lot of under-the-hood changes, the most impactful has been Elder shifting to less of a grounder-at-all-costs guy."
"which has either legitimately knocked down his HR/FB rate (because batters can no longer sit on a mislocated sinker or slider in the way they could before), or is just a mirage and things will normalize soon enough and maybe he'll just look like the midrotation guy his peripherals suggested in years past. The latter is what has largely been on display in his last two starts, including the one against the Red Sox - he had a 3/0 K/BB ratio in eight frames with a costly, game-losing homer yielded in that one, and followed it up with another ho-hum-ish, 4/1 K/BB ratio, homer allowed in six innings against the Nationals."
"The balls were flying out of the yard at Fenway Park yesterday, so we'll see what happens, but Elder's path to success"
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