It's not often that one gets to say that a starting pitcher provided relief. It's a paradoxical moment. The bullpen is meant to do the relieving, but in the Atlanta Braves' case, they were the ones who needed some pressure taken off. Bryce Elder was able to step in and make it happen. He gave his team six-plus innings of two run ball, and helped ensure the Braves only needed three pitchers to get through a tight, 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres. It was only the third time in 23 games that a Braves starter has completed six innings. For now, Elder will take getting a strong out in after a frustrating few weeks on the mound, but he acknowledged the job isn't done."I was very pleased with it," Elder said after his start. "It's kind of been a while since I've consider myself rolling out there, you know? Kind of being comfortable with the stuff and make pitches. So, felt really good and we got some work to do still. A lot of season left. We got to keep rolling." He thinks the break may have helped, but he said that he hit a wall physically. He did was he could to stay in sync but what was working before stopped working for a bit. Over the last week, he took some time to dive into video and talk it over with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner. There was a lot of looking over his mechanics and his tempo. He also noted that the sinker was more effective on Monday as well. He didn't have a lot of whiffs with the pitch, but he had seven first-pitch strikes, and five called strikes on the night with it. "Still had some that weren't moving, but like I said, it was a step in the right direction," he said. While Elder gave the team what they needed from him, he had some help. Victor Mederos was able to cover 2 1/3 innings after Danny Young got two outs in the seventh inning. Everyone else was able to take a reset day, and they can roll again as soon as Tuesday night. That outing earned him his first save since he was playing in the Cape Cod League back in 2021. Manager Walt Weiss highlighted that half the bullpen was essentially unavailable for the game. He wasn't sure what the plan really was going to be, but after Mederos made quick work in the eighth inning, it made the decision easy. "He's really made an impression since he's been here," Weiss said. "It's a big arm, and there's some movement. He's got the cutter that's effective against lefties, too. It's a nice find there. He did a great job for us." The Braves can take control of the series on Tuesday night. Reynaldo Lopez will be on the mound for a 7:15 p.m. first pitch. Sign up for our Free Atlanta Braves Newsletter and follow us on Facebook for the latest newsAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow