Braves win 7th straight as Fried returns with 5 scoreless frames

SAN DIEGO -- If history does indeed repeat itself, the Braves are hoping Max Fried will continue to travel a path similar to 2021.

Fried took the mound for the first time in nearly three weeks and efficiently guided the Braves to a seventh straight victory, 2-0 over the Padres on Monday night at Petco Park.

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Fried’s impressive return enhances the enthusiasm surrounding an Atlanta rotation that feels whole for the first time this year.

“He looked really good,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s hard to believe he had a layoff like that, as sharp as he was. It went kind of exactly how we wanted it to go.”

Austin Riley’s two-run homer in the first inning provided all of the necessary support for Fried, who allowed four hits over five innings. The veteran lefty retired each of the final 10 batters faced, but was limited to 79 pitches because of the long layoff.

Other than a 50-pitch live batting practice at Truist Park last week, this was Fried’s first competitive outing since he strained his left hamstring covering first base during the third inning of his Opening Day start at Nationals Park.

“Any time you have a couple weeks off from game action, you’re not sure how you’re going to be,” Fried said. “Coming into it, I didn’t want to have too high of expectations.”

Fried pitched around a pair of singles in the first inning and then surrendered two more soft singles, neither of which had an exit velocity above 71 mph, in the second inning. He proved perfect over the remainder of his outing and looked much like he did last year, when he finished second in National League Cy Young Award balloting.

Or maybe Fried looked like he did after missing three weeks with a right hamstring strain during the early part of the 2021 season? How did that season end? Fried posted an MLB-best 1.74 ERA after the All-Star break and then pitched six scoreless innings as the Braves ended the World Series with a Game 6 win over the Astros.

“You never have to worry about Max being ready and doing his work,” Snitker said. “That’s one of the most dedicated guys I’ve been around in my life. We were excited about getting him back out there today.”

It was a timely return. The Padres took Fried with the seventh overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft and then traded him to the Braves in the December 2014 deal that brought Justin Upton to San Diego.

With his outing Monday night and a complete-game shutout on Sept. 24, 2021, Fried has totaled 14 scoreless innings at Petco Park. But instead of saying he carried a little extra motivation in these outings, the Southern California native said it has more to do with pitching in front of family and friends.

“This atmosphere here is awesome against a really good team,” Riley said. “I think that might provide some extra adrenaline. But, you know, Max is special."

Fried’s successful return occurred just a day after Kyle Wright conjured memories of last year, when he was MLB’s only 20-game winner. Wright began the season on the injured list and didn’t make his season debut until last week.

The Braves have managed to win 13 of their first 17 games, despite the fact that Monday marked the first time this year their rotation included Fried, Wright and Spencer Strider, who like his two teammates has the potential to become a Cy Young candidate.

“It makes us feel good about where we are,” Snitker said.