Takeaways: Atlanta Braves Drop Opener to Orioles in Ugly Loss
The Atlanta Braves continue their poor play at home this season with an ugly game on Friday night in a 9-4 loss to the Orioles.
They now drop below .500 at home this season at 7-8 and will have to win the next two games against Baltimore to win the series.
A Night to forget for Max Fried
As far as the pitching side of things goes, it was a pretty solid night for Max Fried -- especially through the first 6 innings.
He was dealing early and finished with 20 whiffs and an average exit velocity against of 83.3 MPH. And entering the seventh inning, he had only allowed two runs.
But what will be eating at Fried until his next start are the two errors he made -- both throwing errors.
The first one was on a pick-off attempt that led to an unearned run.
Another came in a disastrous seventh inning that helped the Orioles put seven runs on the board and essentially put the game away.
Offense couldn't breakthrough
Orioles starter Dean Kremer had an ERA over 6 entering the game and had given up four earned or more in five of his six starts this season -- it seemed like a dream offense for a lineup that had some of their best at-bats of the season in Miami.
But they couldn't get that big early against Kremer early in the game despite having two runners on in the third, two more in the fourth with one out, a leadoff single by Ronald Acuna Jr. in the fifth, and a one-out single by Eddie Rosario in the sixth.
It was a frustrating night for the offense early. And by the time the bats broke out, it was too little, too late.
Excited to see more from Braden Shewmake
The bat should not be the focus for Braden Shewmake right now, and it was not the best night at the plate for him, but what I'm eager to see is the defense.
He didn't get his first opportunity until the sixth and made a nice backhanded play and easy throw to first with a catcher running.
Later he made a great diving stop on a ball up the middle but drop the ball on the transfer. Still, you could see the potential on that diving stop.
It wasn't a banner night defensively for the Braves as a whole, but it will be interesting to see if Shewmake can help out in that regard once he gets some more chances.
What's next?
The Braves and Orioles will do it again on Saturday and Spencer Strider will look to even up the series going against Kyle Bradish. Tomorrow's game two is a 7:10 ET first pitch. The game will be a national broadcast on FOX. The radio call, with Ben Ingram, is available locally on WIFN 1340 AM/103.7FM or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.
Stories from the Orioles series
Atlanta Braves call up SS prospect Braden Shewmake; activate Raisel Iglesias
Atlanta Braves Bullpen Roles Once Raisel Iglesias Returns
Podcast: Does May belong to Marcell Ozuna?
Braves Briefing: Best Rivalry in the NL East?
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