Fried Returns to Form When Braves Need Him Down the Stretch

Despite the Atlanta Braves losing 3-2 to the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday, starting pitcher Max Fried shined.

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Max Fried was excellent against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday's 3-2 loss. / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves dropped Wednesday night’s game to the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2, after watching the 2-0 lead slip. 

Despite the loss, there was a positive takeaway. Starting pitcher Max Fried is looking like his All-Star self again. He pitched seven innings of two-run ball giving up four hits and one walk while striking out four. He threw 61 of his 91 pitches on the night for strikes (67%). 

“Definitely felt like myself. I was commanding the ball on both sides of the plate. It was nice to get back under myself,” Fried said after the game Wednesday. 

While he felt good about his outing, he wasn’t completely satisfied. 

“We’re in the results time of the year. Wish I was able to hold that lead tonight - get a win. Because ideally, I would like to take the ball and have us win.”

It’s admirable that Fried has a sense of accountability, but the Braves offense didn’t give him the run support. In the end, the Phillies were held to 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and left just one runner on base. The opportunities were not abundant for them. However, the Braves went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position while also leaving nine men on base. 

One team took advantage of what they could muster. The other team, who had more chances, couldn’t get it done. But if this is how Fried is pitching, they’ll win more often than not. The Braves are 13-9 when he starts after all. 

Fried has the confidence in his team to get in the win column down the stretch. 

“We’re playing good, hard baseball. We’re in a lot of games right now. I feel like if we keep playing like this, things are going to be going our way.” 

Having their ace return to form will go a long way to have things go their way. The Braves are hanging on to a playoff spot for dear life with the Mets still on their heels. Their lead over the Mets was shaved to 1.5 games after New York won Wednesday. They have a key series against them at the end of September, but they still have to be in the hunt a month from now.

Getting some big wins against the Phillies and taking advantage of the favorable schedule would do the trick.  

They have the rotation to get them to the playoffs and then put everyone on notice with a run in October. 

If Fried stays in top form, he, Sale and Lopez could be a three-headed monster down the stretch. Three starters are all you need for a postseason series too. 

That’s a win from each starter in a best-of-five series. In a best-of-seven, you have them for the early games to go up in the series and have them rested for a game six or seven when backs are against the wall or to finish the series off and clinch. 

Sure, the run support wasn’t there in the recent loss, but a couple timely runs might be all the team needs when these guys are on the bump.