Division leaders Guardians, Braves square off in rubber game

Atlanta's Bryce Elder and Cleveland's Ben Lively will try to continue the string of good starting pitching throughout the weekend series between division-leading-teams when they take the mound Sunday afternoon in the deciding game of the three-game set in Atlanta.

The Guardians, tops in the American League Central, evened the series at a game apiece with a 4-2 win in 11 innings on Saturday, a contest that began with Cleveland's Tanner Bibee and Atlanta's Charlie Morton throwing seven scoreless innings. The Braves, the No. 1 team in the National League East, won the opener 6-2 on Friday behind the strong effort of starter Chris Sale.

Now the series is in the hands of Elder (1-0, 0.00 ERA) and Lively (0-1, 2.38), a pair of right-handers working under different scenarios.

Elder will make his second start of the season. He made the All-Star team in 2023 but lost his job in the starting rotation to Reynaldo Lopez in spring training and started the season with Triple-A Gwinnett.

Atlanta's rotation plans collapsed early when ace Spencer Strider was shut down for elbow surgery. The Braves gave one start to Allan Winans and two starts to Darius Vines before turning to Elder, who threw 6 2/3 shutout innings on Monday against Miami.

Elder relied on his ability to change speeds and looked comfortable in a difficult situation.

"All you can ask for is an opportunity. Nothing is guaranteed," he said. "No matter whether it's at Triple-A or here, I'm just going to go out and try to make pitches and get people out and let the rest handle itself."

Elder was 12-4 with a 3.81 ERA last season, but he lost velocity late in the season because of a heavy workload. He made 31 starts and threw 174 2/3 innings, more than he had ever worked as a professional.

"I will for sure be more prepared this year, come July, August and September, just as far as how many starts you have to make," Elder said. "You're going 100 miles an hour with no steering wheel. It's just go, go, go. Physically, I was somewhat ready for it. Mentally, I had never done anything like that."

Elder has one career start against Cleveland. He beat the Guardians last July after allowing two runs over 6 2/3 innings.

Lively is in his first season with the Guardians. He signed a minor league deal but got a chance to join the rotation after injuries to Shane Bieber and Gavin Williams.

Lively has made two starts, both against the Boston Red Sox, and did not receive a decision in his most recent outing on Tuesday when he pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed one run on five hits with seven strikeouts in a game the Guardians won 4-1.

"He was outstanding," Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. "Attacking the zone, going right after them, pitch after pitch. Ben getting that deep into the game was huge for all of us."

Cleveland leads the majors with 19 wins and has won 10 of its past 13 games. The Braves, who have 18 wins, had their four-game winning streak broken Saturday but have won 10 of their past 12.

--Field Level Media