It felt like the Atlanta Braves were turning a corner on Tuesday night. Bryce Elder had avoided disaster in a win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday, the team's eighth in its last 10 games. And now Atlanta's other mercurial young righty, AJ Smith-Shawver, was finally making good on his electric right arm, cruising into the sixth inning with just two runs on three hits and — most importantly of all — one walk allowed. As the bats began to wake up, this was the version of the Braves we'd expected to see all year.
And then, just as soon as they arrived, all those good vibes got thrown into jeopardy once again. Smith-Shawver took a 105.3-mph Ryan McMahon line drive off his pitching elbow, and was forced to leave the game after consulting Atlanta's training staff. It's unclear as of yet just how serious the injury is, but suffice to say the Braves can't afford the worst here.
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Injury scare hangs over AJ Smith-Shawver's breakout night
Atlanta's rotation has been in flux since before the regular season even began; the team knew Spencer Strider wouldn't be ready for Opening Day as he recovered from last year's elbow surgery, and none of Smith-Shawver, Elder or Ian Anderson were inspiring a ton of confidence with their performance in spring training.
Things somehow got even worse once the games actually mattered. Both Smith-Shawver and Elder struggled mightily, while Chris Sale had a hard time recapturing last year's Cy Young form. And then the injuries started: First Reynaldo Lopez went down with a shoulder issue, and then Strider's triumphant return was foiled by a hamstring strain that put him right back on the IL.
It's been a lot, is what we're saying, and this week was the first time that things finally felt at least a little bit settled. Which is what makes this injury scare so acute: Atlanta doesn't have much of any depth waiting in the wings; it needs Elder and Smith-Shawver to be healthy and at least passable, if only for the next few weeks, if it wants to stay afloat in the NL East race.
We know Smith-Shawver has the stuff to be even more than that. His performance on Tuesday was as composed as we've seen him in quite some time, with a command of the strike zone that portended big things. Hopefully he has a chance to build on it, or else the Braves will be right back to square one.