Braves’ bats break out in 11-5 win
The Braves’ offense did their job and crushed Cleveland’s fifth starter, backing a solid Bryce Elder start.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 10: Ronald Acuña Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves hits a RBI single during the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Truist Park on April 10, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C.
Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images As the Braves debuted their blue City Connect 2. 0 jerseys, they hoped for more quality innings from Bryce Elder in the first game of a homestand against the Guardians. Elder walked Jose Ramirez in the first, but struck the next batter out to start the game with a scoreless frame.
Ronald Acuna nearly made my prediction true in his first at-bat, hitting a ball that might have been a homer in another park, on another night, or (perhaps most importantly) with a different ball, but instead fell for a flyout. The second inning was a quiet one and Elder worked around a Kwan single in the third before the Braves drew first blood with singles from Dominic Smith and Michael Harris before a broken bat single from Acuna brought Smith home. Baldwin unfortunately grounded into an inning-inning double-play, limiting the scoring to one run in the frame, which Elder gave back with a solo homer from Kyle Manzardo in the fourth.
The Guardians went single-walk-single with one out in the fifth, taking a 2-1 lead ahead of Cleveland’s two msot dangerous hitters in DeLauter and Ramirez. Elder walked DeLauter to load the bases for Jose Ramirez, which is exactly the type of situation you want to avoid against the Guardians. Bryce struck out Jose Ramirez, ending his outing on a high note, before Walt Weiss pulled him for Aaron Bummer to face the lefty Manzardo.