Fried in Braves' Gm 1, then Anderson, Wright
Left-hander Max Fried will start the Braves' NL Division Series opener against the Marlins in Houston on Tuesday, and he'll be followed in the rotation by right-handers Ian Anderson in Game 2 and Kyle Wright in Game 3, the club announced on Sunday.
Fried worked seven scoreless innings on Wednesday in Atlanta's NL Wild Card Series-opening win over the Reds, and Anderson earned the victory in the clinching Game 2 win on Thursday. Wright's start will be his first postseason appearance.
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 6 | ATL 9, MIA 5 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 7 | ATL 2, MIA 0 | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 8 | ATL 7, MIA 0 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: Fried was in line to draw strong NL Cy Young Award consideration before being limited by back spasms and a turned ankle in September. Neither of the ailments proved to be problematic in his start against Cincinnati: Not bad for a guy who had totaled just six innings over the three previous weeks.
"I don’t think we thought about Max’s ankle or him not having that many innings,” Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “I think we all knew Max would go out there and compete. Him competing at the highest level is pretty special.”
The next question is what the Braves will do if they get to Games 4 and 5 during this best-of-five series, which will be played without any off-days.
Asked if Fried could return on short rest for a potential Game 5, manager Brian Snitker opted to remain coy: “We just need to see how that first game goes and the subsequent games as well.”
Anderson allowed just two hits and recorded nine strikeouts over six scoreless innings in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series. That was the 22-year-old right-hander’s first career postseason start.
Though he wasn't needed against the Reds, the 24-year-old Wright kept himself ready as he simulated five innings while pitching against some of his Braves teammates during a workout at Truist Park on Friday.
“He threw great,” Snitker said.
Bouncing back
Having missed all of Summer Camp while waiting to test negative for COVID-19, despite remaining asymptomatic following a positive test, Will Smith understandably needed some time to fully get comfortable during the short regular season.
Smith allowed five earned runs over 7 2/3 innings in August and then surrendered three runs over 8 1/3 innings in September. With the steady improvement, the lefty ended up limiting opponents to a .190 batting average. But seven of the 11 hits he gave up were home runs.
“The first couple, I just tried to turn the page real quick and not really think much about it,” Smith said. “But there were a couple of nights when I was talking to [pitching coach Rick Kranitz] saying, ‘Just hit a double or something. Hit it off me. Foul it off or anything.’ It was just one of those baseball things. You just keep your head down and keep moving.”
Smith certainly looked like himself as he struck out five of the seven batters faced in the Wild Card Series.
“Toward the end of the season, I was finally starting to click again,” Smith said. “But the past two innings, I finally felt fully back and like myself. I don’t know if it was the situation that kicked me in gear or what it was.”
Familiar faces
This NLDS matchup against the Marlins will mark the third time the Braves have played a division opponent in the postseason. They lost in six games against the Marlins during the 1997 NL Championship Series and then needed six games to eliminate the Mets from the 1999 NLCS.
Snitker gained respect for the Marlins while watching his team win six of the 10 regular-season games played between the clubs this year.
“I think they’ve made some good offseason moves to help that young pitching they have accumulated,” Snitker said. “They’ve done a good job of putting that team together. That team was going to be good regardless of whether the season was 60 [games] or 162. That team was built for a six- or seven-month season."
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