The Braves can’t be finished with the Blue Jays soon enough. They lost to Toronto again Wednesday, 4-1, at Truist Park. The Braves have lost all five games against the Blue Jays this season.
Here are five takeaways from the loss:
1. Hyun Jin Ryu tormented the Braves when he was a Dodger. He’s had success as a Blue Jay, too, stifling the Braves in a 2-1 win last August. Ryu entered the night with a career 2.37 ERA in six starts against the Braves and lowered it to 2.20 in his seventh outing.
In his latest opportunity, Ryu was brilliant again. The lefty allowed one run – William Contreras’ homer – on five hits over seven innings, matching Braves starter Max Fried pitch for pitch. The Braves should be happy the 34-year-old is in the American League, because he’s been a nightmare for them to face.
“He changes speeds so well,” manager Brian Snitker said. “The movement. He’s really, really good.”
Fried added: “You mix speeds, hit your spots and keep guys off balance. To be able to have four different pitches you can go to at any time and throw them for strikes, backdoor changeups, fastballs, curveballs and cutters, it’s a really good mix that’s been good for a really long time.”
2. The injury break must’ve done Fried some good. The southpaw has been much improved since returning from the injured list. After allowing one run over five innings in his first start back, Fried was just as effective against the Blue Jays. He allowed one run on two hits over six innings. He struck out four and walked three.
“I feel like I’m within myself, really focusing on executing and competing,” Fried said. “Before I felt like maybe I was doing a little too much. It crept in a little bit with two strikes tonight, but beyond that, I felt like I was able to move the ball around, throwing the curveball and slider well, mixing in some sinkers. It feels like it was a solid outing.”
The numbers since Fried returned from his hamstring injury: He’s allowed two runs on six hits over 11 innings. He’s looked dramatically better than his first three starts, when Fried surrendered 14 earned runs across 11 frames.
“Back-to-back (performances) like that is a really good sign,” Snitker said.
3. Fried exited when the game was in a 1-1 draw. Toronto outfielder Teoscar Hernandez provided the remaining offense. He hit a go-ahead homer on the first pitch he saw from Luke Jackson in the seventh. He tacked on a two-run shot in the ninth off Josh Tomlin. While veteran righty Chris Martin rejoined the bullpen Wednesday, Snitker said he only wanted to use him if the game was tied or the Braves were leading.
“I didn’t want to warm him up in an if-or-and situation either while we were hitting,” Snitker said. “Since he pitched last night (in Triple-A), if he’d have warmed up in one of those situations, he’d have been down tomorrow. He’ll be good to go tomorrow now.”
4. Contreras smacked a 463-foot solo homer to open the scoring in the fifth. Contreras has shown his shortcomings defensively, but his bat hasn’t been questioned. Snitker and Contreras’ teammates continuously rave about the youngster’s offensive ability.
5 Before the game, the Braves placed left-hander Grant Dayton on the IL with left-thigh inflammation. They recalled lefty Sean Newcomb in his place. Newcomb was superb in his brief Triple-A stint, striking out five of six hitters faced. He continued that in his appearance Wednesday, striking out two in a clean eighth.
“I thought it was really good,” Snitker said. “I liked the way he came out attacking. I liked what I saw. It’s good to have him back.”
Stat to know
2.20 (Ryu’s ERA against the Braves in seven career starts)
Quotable
“It’s like he throws every pitch exactly where he wants it to go.” - Snitker on Ryu
Up next
The Braves and Blue Jays wrap up their series at 12:20 p.m. Thursday. Charlie Morton will try to rebound from his last outing when he failed to finish the first inning. Ross Stripling will start for Toronto.
