If Braves continue to give pitching staff extra rest, they may be resting in October

The Midday Show with Andy & Randy

The Atlanta Braves took a pretty hard loss on Tuesday night, falling to the Milwaukee Brewers to the tune of ten to nothing. The original starter scheduled was Chris Sale, on five days of regular rest. What the Braves opted to do was start Bryce Elder, whom to the Braves credit pitched very well versus the Brewers only a week prior. It did not go well. Elder lasted only three and two thirds innings, giving up seven earned runs including two homeruns in the process. On the season that makes Bryce Elder 2-5 on the season with a 6.52 ERA. The reasoning for continuing to roll Bryce Elder and a few others out there on a regular basis is actually sound, to grant pitchers Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez a sixth day of rest. As far as Chris Sale is concerned, he is the National League front-runner for the Cy Young award. But now the Braves find themselves as the third wild-card team in the National League playoff picture, albeit by only a half of a game. Can the Braves at this point in the season afford to gamble on wins like this? Granted, the offense has not helped the team at all lately. In fact, they haven’t scored a run in twenty-four innings, something that no pitcher can be asked to survive. While the Braves 2024 offensive woes will have to be discussed in a completely separate article, the Braves may not be able to afford to give their pitching staff extra rest, or they may be resting in October. Andy Bunker and Randy McMichael discuss the stretch run for the Braves, and if the pitching staff will be able to hold up.