Backed by big offense, Fried continues to shake off rust

ATLANTA -- Nicky Lopez did something no other Braves player has done. But the highlight of an 11-3 win over the Yankees on Monday night at Truist Park was the fact Max Fried didn’t do what he had done in his last start.

Fried allowed just two runs over six-plus innings, while Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt endured a rough homecoming. The right-hander who grew up approximately 20 miles northwest of Truist Park allowed a career-high eight runs over just 2 1/3 innings. He entered having allowed three runs or less in each of his past 15 starts and 17 of his last 19.

“The offense coming alive and really just blowing the thing open gave me an ability to just take a deep breath, relax and try to just compose myself to eat some innings,” Fried said.

Clarke wasn’t the only one producing unexpected results. Lopez highlighted his latest three-hit performance with a two-run single in the three-run second inning and an RBI single in the four-run third inning. Combined with his four hits in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Mets, the recently acquired backup infielder became the first Braves player to tally at least eight RBIs in his first two starts with the team since RBI became an official statistic in 1920.

If Lopez can extend his recent success, it could prove significant now that Ozzie Albies will spend time on the injured list recovering from a left hamstring strain.

But in the big picture, the contributions Lopez made Monday weren’t as encouraging as the progress made by Fried, who appears to be erasing the rust that developed during his three-month absence.

“He got his breaking ball going,” manager Brian Snitker said. “His fastball command was sketchy. But I told him, ‘It’s like you’re in your third start of Spring Training right now, as long as you were [on the injured list].'”

Fried looked like he might not miss a beat when he returned from the injured list to throw six scoreless innings against the Cubs on Aug. 4. It was his first start since he strained his left forearm during his start on May 5 against the Orioles.

But Fried wasn’t nearly as sharp when he allowed four runs over four innings against the Pirates on Wednesday. All four runs scored in one inning, but it was a sign he would need more time to get back to his elite level.

On Monday night, Fried allowed three of the first four Yankees he faced to reach base safely. But he induced a pair of groundouts to limit the damage to one run in the first. A pair of two-out singles led to another run in the second.

Fried found a groove after he retired Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres and Giancarlo Stanton in order in the third, which began a stretch in which he retired 10 of the final 14 batters he faced. He helped himself out by making Harrison Bader his latest pickoff victim to end the sixth.

This wasn’t a dominant effort, as Fried induced just four swings and misses. But he held steady and pitched into the seventh inning. He was pulled after a leadoff single in the seventh, but this, too, was progress.

“With the time I’ve been off, I’m still a little rusty and not able to make the adjustments as quickly as I would like,” Fried said. “But you need to go through those grinding outings sometimes, where you’re not at your best or feel as sharp, but you’ve got to get the job done.”

Fried taking a step in the right direction extends the recent rebound of Atlanta’s rotation. The Braves exited Thursday’s series finale in Pittsburgh with the NL’s second-worst ERA (6.15) since the All-Star break.

A weekend assignment against the Mets helped this group get healthy. Going back to Friday’s series opener in New York, Charlie Morton, Allan Winans, Spencer Strider, Yonny Chirinos and Fried have combined to allow eight earned runs over 29 2/3 innings -- and Chirinos allowed six of those over 4 2/3 frames on Sunday.

Chirinos is a filler in the fifth spot of the rotation. He can be replaced at some point during the season’s final six weeks or at least pushed aside once the postseason begins.

But Fried stands as the key to the Braves’ bid to win a World Series for the second time in three seasons. So while it might have been fun to watch Lopez further endear himself to his new fan base, seeing Fried make more progress was the evening’s most important development.

“It was just another step in getting back to being completely full-go,” Fried said.