After a tough loss on Saturday night, the Braves hoped to finish a fantastic week with another win in Max Fried‘s return to the mound. The veteran lefty has been on the IL since the All-Star break after feeling some discomfort in his forearm. Thankfully, the injury only cost him a couple of weeks; however, it might be a couple more before we see the version of Max Fried that was recently named to his second All-Star Game.
From the opening pitch on Sunday afternoon, it never felt as if Fried was really comfortable. His control, which is typically a strong-suit, was all over the place. He walked five batters, a career-high, and he did so over just 3.1 innings of work.
Because of that, Max Fried was constantly having to pitch out of a jam. It worked for a few innings, but when playing with fire, there’s always a chance of getting burnt, and that’s exactly what happened to Fried in the fourth.
A couple of singles and a walk led to the Marlins first run of the game. The second run came on a fielder’s choice, when Whit Merrifield attempted to come home for the out but was unsuccessful. Following another infield hit, leading to the Marlins third run, Fried’s outing was done after just 82 pitches, of which only 46 were strikes.
Unfortunately, the damage was only getting started in the frame. Luke Jackson relieved Fried and struck out the first batter he faced, but Jonah Bride was able to break the game wide open with a two-out three-run homer to put the Marlins up 6-0. Miami would add another run later in the game, but none of this would end up mattering much, as the Braves offense failed to score a single run, extending their scoreless inning streak to 15, dating back to the fourth inning of Saturday’s game.
For Max Fried the competitor, this is going to be one that stings. The Braves had a golden opportunity to win today against a piss-poor team and really put some more pressure on the division-leading Phillies. He’s not going to sleep well tonight, but in the grand scheme of things, all that matters is Fried’s health. As long as he left today with the arm feeling alright, he’ll have plenty of more opportunities to make up for it down the stretch.
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Photo: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire
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