Braves ace Max Fried isn’t shying away from the team’s expectations, even with a thin rotation that dwindled further when Cole Hamels was lost for the season Monday.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Braves are perhaps hours from securing their third consecutive National League East title. Both their most recent postseason appearances with the current core were exits in the National League Division Series: They lost to the Dodgers in four games (2018) and the Cardinals in five (2019).
Previous postseason failures increased expectations entering 2020. Despite the virus-shortened season, a decimated rotation and most of the NL postseason being played in Texas, the Braves want another opportunity to move past their string of October heartbreaks.
“Coming into this year, we had a goal that we wanted to win the World Series,” Fried said. “I think getting into the playoffs is the first step in that. But we know where we want to go, what we want to do and how special our team is.”
The difficulty is further heightened without Hamels, whose one-year Braves tenure was ridden with injuries. Hamels finally pitched last week, covering 3-1/3 innings, but reported shoulder fatigue Monday, leading the Braves to wave the white flag on his attempted comeback.
Hamels never was a certainty, but the Braves maintained optimism throughout the 60-game season that he could eventually get up to speed for the postseason. For a brief period, it appeared the rotation was coming together with Fried, Hamels, Ian Anderson and Kyle Wright.
It isn’t back to square 1 – Wright looks much improved, and Anderson has been solid at worst through five starts – but losing Hamels was a blow.
“We believe in every single one of those guys in that locker room,” Fried said. “You knew it was a matter of time before stuff started clicking a little bit, and you saw in that last outing that Kyle looked great. Ian, even though he scuffled a little bit, he battled really hard and was able to fight through and finish strong. It’s all encouraging signs and at the end of the day, anything can happen, especially in playoff baseball.”
Notes from Tuesday:
- Assuming the Braves clinch, the celebration will be subdued. MLB has banned traditional celebrations as part of the safety protocols, so there won’t be any clubhouses drenched in champagne, and Freddie Freeman won’t be distributing hugs like candy on Halloween.
“It’s nothing,” manager Brian Snitker said. “I think we go in and give a little air high-five to everybody, a ‘nice going.’ They restricted all that. It’d be impossible (anyway). If you haven’t been in there, there’s not enough room in the clubhouse to do anything, lockers everywhere.”
- With the Phillies losing to the Nationals in the first game of a doubleheader, the Braves control their own destiny Tuesday. If they defeat the Marlins, they’ll be crowned NL East champions. The Braves are starting Bryse Wilson, from whom they don’t expect more than three or four innings, Snitker said.
On Tuesday night, the Braves will play their 55th game. They clinched each of their past three division titles in their 155th contest. This would be their third consecutive division crown won at Truist Park.
- On Hamels, Fried said: “It’s definitely tough. Seeing how hard he worked to be able to get himself back. I’m frustrated for him because he worked so hard. To get back to this point and not be able to finish, it sucks.”
Fried aspires to have a career like Hamels, a fellow lefty from southern California who’s spent 15 seasons in the majors. Fried said he’ll consult Hamels before his postseason start, which will be Game 1 of the wild-card round next week. He has one more start in the regular season (Wednesday).
“I’m still planning on talking to Cole and some of the older guys to be able to have some reference to,” Fried said. “To have people like that to lean on, ask questions and advice, it’s only going to make it better for all of us.”
