Once a young arm on an up-and-coming team, Max Fried is now one of baseball’s true aces, someone whose reputation as a big-game pitcher is acknowledged throughout the sport.
As the Braves begin the best-of-five National League Division Series versus the Phillies, there is no one they would rather start Game 1 than Fried, who will throw Atlanta’s first postseason pitch.
“He’s like one of the great ones, he’s never satisfied,” manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s always looking for an edge, always looking to improve on something. He just continues to study, to work, figure out a way.”
Last year, Fried tossed six shutout innings to help the Braves close out the Astros in Game 6 of the World Series. Fittingly, the left-hander will begin this year’s postseason run when he faces the Phillies on Tuesday at Truist Park.
In four starts versus the Phillies in the regular season, Fried posted a 3.13 ERA over 23 innings. He struck out 25 Phillies and walked six. He allowed only two home runs. He’s entering this start with the same mindset he has for others.
“I’ve got one opportunity to make an impact on today’s game,” Fried said. “And I don’t want to have any regrets coming out of it thinking that I could have done more or I should have done more.”
On game days, catcher Travis d’Arnaud said, Fried is “locked in from the moment he steps out of his car until basically he’s done.” Fried is the ultimate competitor on the mound, but he works hard behind the scenes as he prepares for starts.
In the days leading up to an outing, Fried familiarizes himself with the opponent. He also tries to receive treatment and complete his arm-care routines so he can “go out there and give it everything I have for 100-plus pitches” the next time out.
In addition to being the Braves’ ace, he is one of baseball’s top pitchers. Fried’s 2.48 ERA ranked seventh in baseball. He has tons of postseason experience. He will be ready for anything.
One of the coolest parts about Fried might be this: He has a laid-back personality … until he gets on the mound.
“He’s like the nicest guy in the world, the most caring guy in the world,” Dansby Swanson said. “But when he gets on the mound, he’s just different. He’s got that competitive bone. He’s got that drive to win. And it’s definitely something that we love playing behind. And he’s obviously been good for us in a lot of big moments. And we’re looking for that trend to continue.”
Fried left his start versus the Mets – in which he allowed one run over five innings – early because of a stomach bug. “It got me kind of good right afterward,” he said Monday. “But I started to bounce back. If we were in a situation where I needed to pitch on that last game of the season, I was going to be able to do that.” The Braves, however, clinched their fifth straight division title the night before they would have needed Fried.
Fried is, of course, excited. “This is the time of year that you play for and you grind for 162 games,” he said. The Braves are counting on him, and they expect to win when he pitches.
“For me, it’s, ‘I’m going to leave everything out there every single time I take the ball because that’s the way that I can impact the game, and I know that my teammates are doing that on a daily basis, especially the guys behind me,’” Fried said of his mindset. “Just making the most of every opportunity that I can get and just giving everything you have every single time you have that opportunity.”
Will Spencer Strider pitch?
It’s the question everyone is asking ahead of the NLDS.
Strider, who is working his way back from a strained oblique, said he threw off the mound Sunday. “I feel great,” he said. But Strider said the decision on whether he will pitch will be up to the Braves.
Asked Monday about Strider’s availability, Snitker said: “Well, we’re still working that out. He threw yesterday. I watched him. He was really good. ... But we’re still kind of mulling that over the next couple of days.”
Snitker made it sound like anything is possible in terms of Strider’s usage, if he does pitch. This means the Braves could use him out of the bullpen if they feel more comfortable doing that than starting him as he comes off the injury.
The Braves must submit their NLDS roster by 10 a.m. Tuesday.
The Braves on Monday announced they signed Strider to a six-year, $75 million deal. They hope he makes an impact in the postseason.
‘Sheriff’ Dansby
Around the Braves’ clubhouse, a nickname has emerged for Swanson: “Sheriff.”
“The young kids, they just started calling me sheriff for whatever reason,” Swanson said. “They act like I run this, like, strict, tight ship, which is just like not the case. I’m like the biggest lover on the team, I think.”
He laughed when he then added this: “But, no, I do get on them occasionally because they’re young and stupid.”
Swanson is the Braves’ unquestioned leader. “Dansby is a born leader,” d’Arnaud said. Braves players often go to Swanson with questions about anything and everything. Swanson’s teammates, young and old, respect him.
Braves players seem to gravitate toward Swanson.
“He’s as charismatic as they come,” Fried said. “And he’s genuine. So when you’ve got a guy that is authentically himself and he can go out there and you know that his one main purpose every single day is to go win a baseball game, and that’s one of your leaders, it’s easy to kind of look at that and follow suit.
“He’s completely selfless. He’s always team first. He’s the guy, if we win and he goes 0-for-4, he’s just as happy as if he went 4-for-4. He’s the guy, if you go 4-for-4 and we lose he’s not as happy as 0-for-4 and winning. When you’ve got guys that are your leaders that prioritize that over personal success, it rubs off on everyone else.”
Game 2 starter
Snitker said the Braves are leaning toward Kyle Wright starting Game 2 on Wednesday.
In the regular season, Wright led the majors with 21 wins, which was three more than anyone else. He posted a 3.19 ERA over 30 starts.
Ronald Acuña excused from Monday’s workout
Ronald Acuña was excused from Monday’s workout because of a family matter.
According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Acuña was still expected to play in Game 1 of the NLDS, as of Monday afternoon.
The latest on Ozzie Albies
Ozzie Albies, who fractured his pinkie about 24 hours after returning from a foot fracture, got his cast off.
“And it’s just now getting strength and flexibility, the whole thing,” Snitker said. “We’ll take him with us this week as he continues to progress.”
It seems unlikely that Albies would play in the NLDS.
Impressions of the Phillies
What do the Braves think of the Phillies, who just swept the Cardinals?
“Obviously, I mean, they’ve been a really good team this entire season,” Swanson said. “Feel like over the last couple of months they’ve been playing really good baseball along with us. They always pitch well. I feel like they’ve gotten better defensively. And we obviously know that they’re going to put up competitive at-bats. And definitely a really good ballclub. Anybody at this point in the year is going to be a dangerous team. And they’ve been playing well.”
Added Snitker: “I think the Phillies are hitting on all cylinders. They’ve got everybody back. Their starting pitching is really good. Their circle of trust in that bullpen, they worked through some issues there. I think that’s a really good bullpen. And they’re playing really, really well now.”
