DENVER – Behind Max Fried’s stellar performance, the Braves beat the Rockies, 3-1, in 10 innings to win a third straight game for the first time this year.
Here are five observations on the Braves (26-27):
1. In a place where many pitchers suffer, Fried thrived.
At Coors Field, many pitchers don’t experience the same movement on their offerings. They may tire quickly. And of course, balls fly.
Well, Fried defied all of that as he spun eight scoreless innings. The Rockies only mustered two hits off Fried, who was perfect through three innings.
This is up there with the best performances of Fried’s career. He has only tossed eight or more scoreless innings two other times in his career – his two shutouts last season. The first came against the Orioles on Aug. 20, the second versus the Padres on Sept. 24.
“I don’t know where it really ranks,” Fried said of this outing.”I’m happy that I was able to go out there and give us a chance to win tonight. Obviously runs were at a premium, so you just had to go out there and keep attacking.”
Prior to this, Fried had allowed three earned runs over 8 2/3 innings at Coors Field in his career.
This time, he mastered the ballpark that is a nightmare for pitchers and continued a great season.
Of the key to pitching in this ballpark, with its challenges, Fried said: “Not worry about all that stuff. Just go out there and pitch my game, and make the adjustments on the fly, knowing that stuff might not be working, but not to overthink it or feel like you don’t have it tonight. To me, it was just more, inning by inning, seeing where my stuff was, what it was doing and making the adjustment off of that.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
2. The Braves’ offense finally broke through in the top of the 10th inning.
With automatic runner Adam Duvall beginning the frame at second base, the Braves loaded the bases on a walk and a hit by pitch. Then they scored on a wild pitch, as Duvall raced home for the game’s first run.
Two batters later, Matt Olson went the other way on a two-out, two-strike pitch to plate two more Braves. The Atlanta contingent here, which has been rather large through two games, roared as its team finally made noise in the batter’s box.
“For us to win this one is big for us,” Travis d’Arnaud said. “Especially if we ever get in that situation again, we know, hey, we’ve won it and we can do this again.”
3. With this performance, Fried’s ERA went from 3.10 to 2.74. Yet again, he showed his importance to the club.
“You expect to win the game when he pitches,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
In the sixth inning, Fried allowed a double. His mindset after that, he said, was: “Make pitches and make ‘em earn it.” He got out of that inning unscathed.
Otherwise, Fried -- who threw 102 pitches, 72 for strikes -- had no trouble from which to escape.
“His fastball command today was the best he’s had all year,” d’Arnaud said. “I think that’s what opened up everything else and made a lot of their hitters uncomfortable.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
4. Before this, the Braves had been 0-4 in extra-innings games. In losses in Milwaukee and Arizona, the Braves failed to score more than one run when it was their turn to bat.
If you are the road team – as they were in those two contests – this makes it difficult to win because the deck is stacked against your pitcher in the bottom half, with a runner beginning the inning at second base.
The proof came in the bottom half of the 10th on Friday: Kenley Jansen, summoned to close out Colorado, allowed a run but still had breathing room because the Braves put up a crooked number in the top half.
“You have to score multiples, especially on the road, if you’re going to win an extra-inning game,” Snitker said. “Big hit by Matt. Big, big, big hit by Matt to make it multiples, because it’s hard.”
5. The Braves were a part of something rare.
Friday’s game was only the second in Coors Field history to enter extra innings scoreless (it also happened in 2008).
Stat to know
6 - Fried is the sixth visiting pitcher in Coors Field history to hurl at least eight scoreless innings with two or fewer hits allowed.
Quotable
“To me, he is. He goes out every fifth day and makes hitters look silly. What more could you ask for? He pitches deep into the games. If your bullpen needs a night off, he picks you up, just like today. He’s incredible and he’s always ready every fifth day for the ball to be in his hand and go out there and put up a bunch of zeros.” - d’Arnaud when asked if Fried is one of baseball’s true aces
Up next
Braves right-hander Spencer Strider faces Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland in the third game of this series, which begins at 9:10 p.m. ET on Saturday.
