Braves, Fried looking ahead after setback to Reds

ATLANTA -- Before becoming worried about how Max Fried and the Braves began this season, remember where they were last year, long before they were spraying champagne and hoisting the World Series trophy.

Fried endured a couple of rough innings and Austin Riley’s late home run wasn’t enough for the Braves to prevent a 6-3 Opening Day loss to the Reds on Thursday night at Truist Park. This wasn’t how the defending world champs or their ace envisioned starting a season. But neither is in unfamiliar territory.

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Long before winning the 2021 World Series, the Braves were 0-4 and they didn’t establish a winning record until August arrived. As for Fried, he posted an 11.45 ERA through his first three starts, missed the next few weeks with a hamstring strain and didn’t start building a Cy Young Award resume until he returned in May.

“We’ve been through the ebbs and flows,” Riley said. “We know how to deal with failure or whatever it might be. So, you just come back tomorrow and get back after it. I’m excited to play tomorrow, and I know everybody else is, too.”

Through this season-opening weekend, the Braves will be playing in front of sold-out crowds filled with fans still celebrating last year’s championship. The frenzied crowd on Thursday night was treated to Riley’s two-run homer in the eighth and the eye-popping fastball Spencer Strider produced during his perfect two-inning relief stint.

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Strider struck out five of the six batters he faced during the seventh and eighth innings. The rookie right-hander averaged 99.3 mph with 18 fastballs. The Reds whiffed with seven of 11 swings against the pitch.

According to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, Strider is the second pitcher in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008) to have five-plus strikeouts in a game, all concluding with a pitch at 99 mph or faster.

Not bad for a guy who rose from Single-A to the Majors during his first professional season last year.

But the season opener wasn’t all good for a bullpen that has a chance to be one of the game’s best. The offseason additions of Collin McHugh and Kenley Jansen enhanced excitement about this group. But McHugh’s debut for his hometown team didn’t go as planned. He replaced Fried with two on and two out in the sixth, before promptly allowing Brandon Drury’s three-run homer.

So, one year after allowing just three homers while facing 247 batters, McHugh allowed a home run to the first batter he faced. Drury’s blast over the left-field wall further damaged Fried, who was charged with five runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings.

“He battled, and they didn’t really square him up real well,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Fried. “It was a decent first outing. His line isn’t going to look as good as he pitched. But it was good.”

Fried struck out three of the first four batters he faced and then hit Tyler Stephenson with a pitch before surrendering singles to two of the next three batters in the second. Stephenson scored easily on Kyle Farmer’s two-out single to left field, as the Reds took advantage of Marcell Ozuna’s arm.

All eight hits surrendered by Fried were singles. Four of those were produced with an exit velocity of 98.2 mph or faster. Four others had exit velocities of 69.2 mph or slower.

“You want to take every game seriously and go out there and try to win, but you don’t want to put too much pressure on yourself early on and realize it’s still a long year,” Fried said.

After enduring a rough April last season, Fried righted himself and produced an MLB-best 1.74 ERA following the All-Star break. Then, after allowing at least five runs in consecutive postseason starts, he took the mound in Game 6 of the World Series and produced six scoreless innings.

Like other frontline starters, Fried knows how to quickly stop the bleeding.

“I’ve seen him have early games like this before,” Snitker said. “This wasn’t a bad game. He threw the ball pretty well.”