Braves Briefing: Max Fried rocks a new haircut as he attempts to get back into midseason form

The Braves lefty was feeling the effects of the heat in his first home start last week, so he took some drastic measures

Max Fried is willing to make sacrifices for his craft. 

The lefty, now a few starts back from missing 2.5 months to a forearm strain, admitted that the heat got to him on his first home start last week against the Yankees. 

"Usually I'm playing throughout the year, and experiencing it slowly heat up so I'm more used to it. But I've been watching a lot of games in the air conditioning, so not really out there grinding and getting acclimated to it." 

His solution? A buzzcut. 

He shaved off the luscious locks he usually sports, hoping to get a little more air circulation for his head and better let his body naturally cool itself off. 

Max Fried evaluates his performance against the Giants ⤵️

"I'd say overall, still fighting myself at times. Not really all that sharp. Not executing pitches that I want to in good spots." pic.twitter.com/lPxHFT7HTj

— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) August 20, 2023

That's quite a sacrifice for someone that was once pronounced to have the best hair on the team, after now-departed SS Dansby Swanson joined the Cubs. 

NL East Standings

Team	Record	Games Back/WC	Action Today
Atlanta	80-43	--	vs Mets
Philadelphia	67-57	13.5/+2.5	vs Giants
Miami	64-61	17.0/1.0	@ Padres
NY Mets	58-67	23.0/7.0	@ Braves
Washington	57-68	24.0/8.0	@ Yankees

We Wrote It

Contributor Kyle Richardson wrote last night about Eddie Rosario's career success against the San Francisco Giants:

Eddie Rosario loves playing against the San Francisco Giants. He has appeared in 14 games against them and in 44 plate appearances, he has 21 hits. That's good enough for a .477 Batting Average. That's his highest batting average against any team in the MLB and it isn't close. The next closest team is Tampa Bay, who he has a .376 batting average against.
Let's dive even further into those stats, what ballpark does Rosario have his highest batting average? You guessed it, Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. In nine games at Oracle Park, he is 12-for-28 (.429 Batting Average). 

READ: Eddie and Goliath: Rosario the Giant Slayer

What's next for the Atlanta Braves? 

The Braves open their final series of the homestand tonight against the New York Mets, with Allan Winans getting the start for Atlanta against lefty David Peterson. First pitch is scheduled for 7:20 PM ET from Truist Park. The game broadcast is available locally on Bally Sports Southeast and on MLB.tv outside of Braves Country. The radio call is available in the Atlanta Metro area on 680 The Fan, regionally on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network, and nationally on MLB.tv.

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