Among the biggest surprises in the National League this year has been the re-emergence of Bryce Elder.

Ahead of his start for the Atlanta Braves on Friday against the visiting Washington Nationals, Elder (4-2, 2.01 ERA) appears to be back in top form.

Elder, a 2023 All-Star, went 10-16 with a 5.59 ERA in 38 starts between 2024 and ’25. Currently fifth in the NL in ERA, the 27-year-old right-hander has been among the most important performers for the National League East-leading Braves.

Elder took his first home loss of the year on Saturday despite tossing eight innings. He permitted three runs on seven hits in a 3-2 defeat against the visiting Boston Red Sox.

“I thought Bryce gave us exactly what we needed,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said. “He did an outstanding job.”

Elder, who has compiled a 3-2 record and a 3.18 ERA in seven career starts against the Nationals, is just one of the many Braves enjoying a stellar start to the year. Atlanta leads the majors in wins (35), batting average (.266), homers (72) and ERA (3.09). Ahead of the weekend series, the Braves have won nine of their past 12 games.

Of the Braves without impressive numbers is offseason acquisition Mike Yastrzemski, but he made key contributions on Thursday. The veteran outfielder went 3-for-3 with a solo homer and an RBI double in Atlanta’s a 9-3 win over the Miami Marlins.

“Yaz is swinging the bat well,” Weiss said. “He’s worked really hard and it’s paying off. … We’re just swinging the (bats) really well as a team. We’re passing the baton and we’re doing all the things it takes to play winning offensive baseball.”

Washington enters a six-game road trip coming off a 4-3 homestand. First-year manager Blake Butera’s club leads the majors with 280 runs, but the Nationals’ offense is coming off a rare lackluster showing in a 2-1 loss to the New York Mets on Thursday. That result kept Washington from sweeping the three-game series

“I think overall, we had a chance to win all of them,” Butera said. “Proud of the way the guys fought (on Thursday). I thought we had a few opportunities, we just couldn’t get that big hit with runners in scoring position.”

Washington right-hander Miles Mikolas (1-3, 6.91 ERA) will be in search of his first road win of the year when he starts on Friday. Amid an unimpressive first two months with his new club, Mikolas has shown signs of improvement of late. In three May starts, he is 1-0 with a 4.40 ERA. He was 0-3 with an 8.23 ERA through the end of April.

Last time out, Mikolas went 5 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits, striking out four and walking one in a no-decision against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.

In nine career appearances (eight starts) against the Braves, Mikolas is 3-4 with a 3.33 ERA.

–Field Level Media

The Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles will look to get their seasons untracked when they meet Friday night in Baltimore.

It’s the beginning of a 10-game homestand for the Orioles, who just finished a 1-5 road trip.

“We’ve shown that we can play with anyone,” Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz said. “We just have to allow ourselves to play with anyone. Whether it be on the pitching side, defensively, offensively. We just have to get everything clicking at once.”

The Orioles were swept in three games vs. Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Monday through Wednesday. They failed to protect a two-run lead in the eighth inning of their most recent game, a 5-3 setback to the Rays.

Albernaz called that situation “a big-time gut punch.”

Detroit, meanwhile, is in the midst of a six-game losing streak and has gone seven games in a row without scoring more than three runs.

The Tigers are coming off a 1-6 homestand that included two defeats in 10-inning games. They fell 3-1 to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday afternoon.

“We’re wearing it,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said.

The Tigers are 11 games below .500 for the first time since 2023. Detroit players insist they’re united despite the on-field woes.

“We all got to stick together, you know,” Casey Mize said. “And we are, in my opinion.”

But it’s not necessarily a happy clubhouse.

“We’re just frustrated. We’re trying. We’re doing everything we can,” outfielder Matt Vierling told The Detroit News. “We expected to be better than this, and we’re just overall frustrated. All we can do is show up tomorrow and try to win a ballgame.”

Baltimore has been held to three or fewer runs in 10 of its last 13 games. Albernaz said the Orioles have looked passive on the base paths at times.

“That’s when we lose some opportunities out there,” he said. “(We need to be) aggressive on the bases. When we’re pushing the envelope on the bases, that’s when good things happen for us.”

Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso has begun to show a power stroke, raising his home run total to nine. Five homers have been opposite-field shots.

Baltimore infielder Jackson Holliday played third base for the first time in the major leagues for one inning Wednesday. But he could bounce around the infield based on his workload in the minor leagues while on injury rehabilitation assignments.

Right-hander Chris Bassitt (3-3, 5.44 ERA) will head to the mound on Friday for Baltimore, coming off a five-inning stint in which he gave up four runs and took the loss Saturday at Washington in a 13-3 outcome. He has won in his last two starts at home.

Bassitt is 4-4 with a 3.88 ERA in 10 career starts vs. the Tigers.

Detroit right-hander Jack Flaherty (0-5, 5.77 ERA), who’ll start the series opener, has lost three consecutive starts, including Sunday vs. Toronto when he allowed four runs in six innings in a 4-1 setback. Flaherty has averaged more than one strikeout per inning this season (48 in 43 2/3 innings).

Flaherty, who pitched part of the 2023 season for the Orioles, has faced Baltimore only once. He lost in that 2024 game, giving up three runs in six innings.

–Field Level Media

The Indiana Fever did just fine in their first game without Caitlin Clark this season.

And they’re likely to have their All-Star back on the floor when they face the Golden State Valkyries on Friday night in Indianapolis.

Clark, who played in just 13 games last season because of multiple injuries, was a late scratch because of back soreness before Indiana’s 90-73 home victory against the Portland Fire on Wednesday. She’s listed as probable for Friday.

In Clark’s absence, Aliyah Boston returned from a one-game absence (lower-leg injury) to lead the Fever (3-2) with 24 points and eight rebounds.

“She takes control of the offense when we need her to,” coach Stephanie White said of Boston.

Clark’s return would lessen the burden on Boston and Kelsey Mitchell, who had 21 points against Portland. The victory gave the Fever consecutive wins for the first time in the young season, and they’ll try to win their third straight home game Friday.

“We’re really stating to build continuity on both ends of the floor,” White said. “It doesn’t happen overnight. I think we’re progressing, and I’m pleased with our progression.”

Golden State (3-1), meanwhile, had eight days to recover from its first loss of the season May 13 and bounced back strong in an 87-70 victory against the Liberty on Thursday night in New York.

“We were aware that eight days (off) is a privilege to get,” said Veronica Burton, who had 13 points and a team-high seven assists on Thursday. “Sometimes it can also be a little bit difficult to start off with a lot of intensity and energy.”

Golden State, which lost at home to Chicago 69-63 on May 13, started well against the short-handed Liberty, leading 25-15 after one quarter and remaining in command throughout. The Valkyries finished with 13 3-pointers in 35 attempts, compared with New York’s 6 in 24 attempts.

Now the Valkyries will go from a week-long break in between games to finishing a back-to-back set.

“Being on the road and having a back-to-back, you can kind of get into a self-pity mode,” Burton said, “but we embrace the opportunities to come out here and compete.”

–Field Level Media