Bryce Elder and the Braves look to extend Athletics misery in series opener

ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 27: Bryce Elder #55 of the Atlanta Braves is introduced before the game against the Kansas City Royals at Truist Park on March 27, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr. /Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images The Atlanta Braves are looking to stay above .

500 here in the infancy of the season and they’ll likely need a strong start from Bryce Elder if they’re going to pick up their third win in four games so far. The Athletics are coming into this game licking their wounds a bit. The defending American League champions Toronto Blue Jays opened up their season in style with a three-game sweep over this A’s squad.

In fact, Toronto’s pitching was a bit too much for the A’s to handle at times, as the Blue Jays ended up recording a whopping 50 strikeouts across the three-game series — which is an MLB record for the first three games of the season. With that being said, whenever the Athletics did manage to make contact with the ball, they made some noise. The A’s had a Hard-Hit percentage of 36.

5 percent across the first three games of the series, which placed them in fourth behind the Dodgers (sure), White Sox (actually makes sense), and the Marlins (they played the Rockies). The biggest culprit over the weekend was Shea Langeliers, who had a Barrel rate of 37. 5 percent and clubbed three dingers over the course of the three games North of the border.