LOS ANGELES -- The Braves exited Atlanta with MLB’s best record. Nine games and three cities later, they returned home looking to be even more formidable.
White was put in concussion protocol after his head continued to hurt during the next inning.\n\n“He smacked the wall,” Braves first baseman Matt Olson said. “He was putting it all out there to go make a grab. It was probably the biggest moment of the game.”
With wins in the final two games of a three-game set against the Dodgers, the Braves concluded a 6-3 road trip. They lost two of three in Seattle to suffer this season’s only series loss thus far. But thanks to impressive starts by Elder and
\n
**Bryce is real and Strider is back**\n\nStrider worked out the kinks when made his season debut during this trip’s second game. He looked more like the 2023 dominant version of himself when he allowed one run and notched seven strikeouts over seven scoreless innings on Saturday. His re-emergence as a top-flight starter would significantly improve Atlanta’s World Series hopes.\n\nChris Sale remains the staff ace. But Elder has also pitched like a frontline starter while posting a NL-best 1.81 ERA through his first nine starts. Elder recorded eight strikeouts and allowed just one hit over 5 2/3 scoreless innings in this series finale against the Dodgers. He had no trouble before issuing three consecutive two-out walks in the sixth. This prompted the entry of
**High-leverage flexibility**\n\nThe Braves were doing some mixing and matching with their bullpen while closer