At some point, the Braves might need more consistent offensive production.
Right now, though, we can simply appreciate the terrific pitching that has led them as they chase a postseason berth.
Max Fried tossed seven one-run innings as the Braves beat the Blue Jays, 3-1, on Friday at Truist Park. Joe Jiménez and Raisel Iglesias each pitched a scoreless inning after Fried.
Before this win, the Braves had lost nine straight games against Toronto. They hadn’t beaten the Blue Jays since Aug. 6, 2020. This skid was the longest active losing streak to the Blue Jays by any team in baseball.
“It was big,” catcher Travis d’Arnaud said. “I think a lot of us knew that we haven’t beaten them in a few years, and this was a big game for us.”
Five observations:
1. Fried spun a gem. Then two high-leverage arms shut down the opposition to seal the victory.
More often than not, this might have to be the recipe to victory going forward for the Braves, who are without key pieces in their lineup.
“Yeah, it seems to be (the recipe),” manager Brian Snitker said. “Would it have been nice to have added on a couple more? Maybe. Because like I said (Thursday) night, those back-end (relievers) can only go so much. But tonight, it was a nice game.”
The Braves are without Ronald Acuña Jr., Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies in the lineup. Atlanta on Thursday scored three or fewer runs for the 63rd time in 141 games this season. For context: The Braves had 37 such games in 2023, and 63 in 2022.
The Braves are used to a high-powered offense.
Instead, their starters haven’t allowed more than three runs in 25 straight games. This is the franchise’s longest single-season streak since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The previous record, set by the 1948 Boston Braves, was 18 such starts in a row.
“I guess it’s not surprising, knowing the group that we have,” Fried said. “But everything kind of has to fall into place, too. Every night, each of our starters, we’re confident that we can go out there and win a game, go deep into games. We’re throwing the ball well and it’s kind of where we want to be going into the end of the year.”
2. When the Braves have needed him most, Fried has been there.
“There’s no moment too big for him,” said d’Arnaud, who caught Fried on Friday.
Fried didn’t have much margin for error, but was fantastic. He’s allowed seven earned runs in 26 innings over his last four starts, including Friday.
As Fried heads down the stretch, Braves fans hope he’s not undone by a random, unlucky issue. In 2022, he had a virus. In 2023, a blister formed.
“But I’m feeling really great,” Fried said. “It’s the time of the year where it’s coming down to the end, we don’t have many games left, so you’re just putting everything on the line for your teammates, for the organization. You want to go out there and win every opportunity you get. Knowing that I only have a handful of starts left, I want to make sure that I’m leaving everything that I have out there every time I take the ball.”
Fried came up big for Atlanta on Friday. He always seems to do so when the Braves really need it.
“Oh, all the time,” d’Arnaud said. “That’s the Max we know. Just not afraid of anybody. Just attack guys. Not afraid of contact.”
3. The Braves’ offense only plated three runs, which might not be enough on other nights, but this performance could be considered encouraging for this reason: Atlanta won without homering.
The Braves scored three runs against Kevin Gausman, a former Brave, in the second inning. They sent nine men to the plate. They singled three times and drew three walks. They didn’t score again, but because of Fried, they didn’t need more runs.
Before Friday, the Braves were 14-30 this season when hitting no homers in a game. Without a few of their power guys, they’re going to need to score in other ways – though some guys in this lineup can still leave the yard.
“For us to do that with getting singles is big for us, just to kind of know we can shorten things up and still win ballgames,” d’Arnaud said.
At times, the Braves might have to win this way – scratch out a few runs and rely on the pitching.
“We were accustomed to some more offense than we’ve had, we’ve got a lot of changes,” Snitker said. “It’s been a different year – totally. I always say in the beginning, no two years are ever the same, and this one’s been an outlier through the whole thing. Proud of the guys (for) how they’ve stuck together, fought. And the new guys we brought in have done an unbelievable job, and that’s because of the character of the guys that came in here. We’re just gonna tee it up again tomorrow.”
4. The Braves couldn’t go long without an injury scare, huh?
Whit Merrifield on Friday returned to the lineup after being hit in the head by a pitch on Tuesday. Merrifield hadn’t played five full innings when he fouled a ball off his left foot in the fifth. He played second base in the top of the sixth, then Luke Williams replaced him in the top of the seventh.
Merrifield was really sore when the Braves pulled him from the game. X-rays on the left foot were negative.
Merrifield exited Tuesday’s contest early and missed the last two games as he recovered.
Before Friday’s game, Snitker said Albies hasn’t felt great when swinging from the left side. He does feel well when swinging from the right side, though. It seems he might be out until the middle of September or later.
Could he return earlier than that if he hit from only the right side? He is, after all, better as a right-handed hitter.
“That’s kind of for the guy,” Snitker said. “He’s gonna have to make that decision. Because if he’s not all in, then it wouldn’t work. If he decides it’s something he wants to do, then I’m sure we’d give him a crack at it. But I think he’s gonna have to be the one that feels good about that.”
5. On Friday, the Mets hit a walk-off homer to beat the Reds. They’ve won eight in a row and remain tied with the Braves for the third spot in the National League wild-card race.
How much attention are the Braves paying to those around them in the standings?
“I mean, it would be a lie to say that you don’t see what’s going on, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter unless you take care of what you can take care of,” Fried said. “It really doesn’t matter what they do if we don’t win our game. So I think our focus is most about, we have to come in, take care of business, win today’s game, and that’s all we can really do.”
“You know what, I don’t think about that,” Snitker said. “All I think about is we need to win tomorrow. I don’t get caught up in all that. I mean, I know it’s there. But it doesn’t do me any good to worry about it because the most important thing we’re gonna do this year is play tomorrow’s game. We just gotta compartmentalize and stay in the present, quite honestly, because we can’t get caught up in where we’re at in the standings and all that. I think we just gotta take each and every day separately and give it our best go on that day, and do it again the next day.”
Stat to know
2.35 - Since Fried debuted in 2017, his 2.35 ERA in September – 32 appearances, 26 of them starts – is the third-lowest mark among pitchers with at least 120 innings pitched in September.
Quotable
“These games are important. As cliché as it is, every game is the exact same. But you know what this time of year is leading up to. If you can be playing good baseball this time of year and kind of hitting your peak, you’re right where you want to be and now it’s just about keeping your head down and doing what you need to do to win games.” - Fried on pitching well in September
Up next
At 7:20 p.m. on Saturday, Atlanta’s Spencer Schwellenbach will face Toronto right-hander Jose Berrios.
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