Braves Today

Braves Come Within One Out of No-Hitter Versus Mets; Primed for Sweep on Sunday

Atlanta Braves pitching was masterful as they came within one out of no-hitting the Mets in their Saturday afternoon series-sealing victory

Lindsay Crosby

Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried went seven hitless and scoreless innings against the New York Mets, walking three and striking out five.
Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried went seven hitless and scoreless innings against the New York Mets, walking three and striking out five. / John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
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The Atlanta Braves almost got their first no-hitter since 1994, holding the New York Mets to just two hits (both coming with two outs in the 9th) en route to a 4-1 victory to officially win the series and position Atlanta for a sweep on Sunday night in Citi Field. 

Here’s what you need to know about from the contest.

Max Fried was almost perfect in this one

Atlanta’s ace was on fire entering this series - entering this afternoon, Fried had a 2.16 ERA in his last five starts, allowing only a .159 batting average against and holding opposing hitters to an .488 OPS.

That ERA’s coming down - Fried went seven scoreless and hitless innings, with the only thing keeping him from being perfect on the day was two consecutive two-out walks in the third inning and a one-out walk in the 7th. 

For the game, Fried finished with seven hitless, scoreless innings with three walks and five hits on 109 pitches (68 strikes). He used all seven pitches in his arsenal, finishing with 12 whiffs and a slightly below-average 28% CSW.    

Joe Jiménez (8th) kept New York from dropping one for a hit during his inning, preserving the no-hitter, but closer Raisel Iglesias gave up a solo shot with two outs in the ninth to designated hitter JD Martinez to both lose the no-hitter and the shutout.   

If Atlanta could have done it, it would have been the first Braves no-hitter since 1994, when Kent Mercker did it in his first start of the season, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The last combined no-hitter was 1991, also with Mercker as the starter.

The Michael Harris game?

Coming into this one, Harris was sitting in an 0-29 hitless stretch, the longest such streak of his career (seven games). 

It wasn’t a strikeout issue - he only struck out five times in that span, and had twelve hard-hit balls (95 mph or higher) and seven of 100 mph or more. Despite hard-hit balls falling for hits at a .486 rate this season and 100mph or harder balls resulting in a .584 average, Harris was hitless. 

But when the inputs are good and it’s not working out, that’s usually a luck issue and those things have a way of fixing themselves eventually. 

Safe to say they absolutely fixed themselves in this one. 

Harris went 3-3 in this game, picking up three singles at 111.4, 99.1, & 97.3 mph. His third-inning single was well-timed, as Orlando Arcia promptly launched one just inside the left field foul pole to put Atlanta on the board. Harris’s fourth-inning single scored Austin Riley from 2nd to push Atlanta’s lead to three. He was hit by a pitch in his fourth at-bat, coming in the 9th inning, so he finished the day getting on base four times. 

If it helps, he also flashed the glove defensively, making two great catches at the centerfield wall to preserve the no-hitter. 

The umpiring was...tough

Veteran umpire James Hoye was behind the plate calling balls and strikes tonight, and it’s easy to see why Umpire Scorecards has Hoye as a well below-average umpire. 

Hoye had several strike calls that were...questionable, at best. He consistently gave Mets prospect Christian Scott a few baseballs width off of the plate outside, but Max Fried wasn’t getting the same allowance. 

Even the Braves on Bally account noticed how egregiously bad some of the strike three calls were: 

Bring us the Triple-A challenge system already. 

What’s next for the Atlanta Braves?

The Braves have officially won the series and are looking for a sweep tomorrow night. The game’s being carried nationally as part of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball and is scheduled for a 7:10 PM ET first pitch. Atlanta’s sending Bryce Elder (1-1, 5.28 ERA) to the mound opposite New York’s Luis Severino (2-2, 2.93). 

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Lindsay Crosby
LINDSAY CROSBY

Managing Editor for Braves Today and the 2023 IBWAA Prospects/Minors Writer of the Year. You can reach him at contact@bravestoday.com

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