Bryce Elder delivered six strong innings, Michael Harris II hit a go-ahead double in the fifth, and the Atlanta Braves defeated the struggling Colorado Rockies 6-3 on Monday night.
The Rockies, now 4-24, have lost seven straight games and 15 of their last 16, holding the worst record in Major League Baseball.
Elder (1-1) surrendered a three-run homer to Hunter Goodman in the first inning but then settled in, allowing only three more hits over the next five innings. He struck out four and walked two, equaling his longest outing of the season. Raisel Iglesias secured his fifth save by striking out Brenton Doyle with a runner on base.
Nick Allen led Atlanta with three hits, while Eli White, Alex Verdugo, and Sean Murphy each contributed two. The Braves have won eight of their last ten games after starting the season 5-13.
After falling behind 3-0 on Goodman’s fifth homer, the Braves chipped away, scoring twice in the third and tying the game in the fourth on Allen’s RBI single. Harris gave Atlanta the lead with a two-out double to right-center off Ryan Feltner (0-2) in the fifth.
Murphy added an insurance run with an RBI single in the seventh.
Colorado threatened in the eighth, with Jordan Beck leading off with a double and Ryan McMahon drawing a walk. But Daysbel Hernández retired the next three batters—Goodman on a flyout, Michael Toglia on a strikeout, and Mickey Moniak on a lineout—to escape the jam.
Colorado’s starting rotation fell to 2-18, with Antonio Senzatela and Chase Dollander—the latter earning a win in his debut—being the only starters with victories.
For Game 2 of the series, Colorado will start right-hander Germán Márquez (0-4, 9.30 ERA), while Atlanta had not yet named a starting pitcher.
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