'He's our guy': Braves confident with Fried on mound in Game 1

ATLANTA -- As Max Fried prepares to take the Braves into another postseason, his teammates are still impressed with the incredible willpower he showed after his right ankle was nearly fractured during Game 6 of last year’s World Series.

"Sometimes it takes will," third-base coach Ron Washington said. "Sometimes it takes mind over matter. At some point, we all feel bad trying to do our job, but if you're able to do it, then you do it with mind over matter and will. And certainly, that's what Fried has."

Fried became a postseason hero after completing six scoreless innings in the decisive win over the Astros. His ankle was an afterthought as he carried Atlanta to its first World Series title since 1995.

Now the Braves ace will carry that toughness into the National League Division Series as the Game 1 starter against the Phillies on Tuesday. He’ll face Ranger Suárez to open the best-of-five series at Truist Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1:07 p.m. ET.

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"I've got one opportunity to make an impact on today's game," Fried said about his mindset ahead of each start. "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.

"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."

The left-hander was covering first when Houston outfielder Michael Brantley accidentally stepped on him in a gruesome play in the first inning of Game 6. Brantley, running 27.4 feet per second, put his entire weight on Fried's right ankle, causing immediate concern that the injury was significant. But Fried bounced right back up and allowed just three more hits the rest of the way.

The Braves went on to win the game, 7-0, to secure the franchise’s fourth World Series championship.

"He definitely has that dog in him," Michael Harris II said. "He's our guy. He's the type of guy you want to throw out there Game 1 to set the tone, and I feel like he'll go out there and do that tomorrow."

Fried has made 17 postseason appearances since making his playoff debut in 2018. Overall, he has a 4.06 ERA in 57 2/3 innings. The Braves, who are seeking to become the first team since the 1999-2000 Yankees to repeat as world champions, won three of the five starts Fried made last postseason.

"Max has been a tremendous pitcher throughout his whole career here," Travis d'Arnaud said. "And there's nobody else we'd rather have on the mound. When big games happen, he seems to step up and lock it in even more.

"I think we have all the confidence in the world in Max, and we're all feeling really good with him out there on the mound at any given point."

If last year's performance in the World Series wasn't proof enough, the 28-year-old followed it with a Cy Young Award-worthy season. He posted a 2.48 ERA after pitching 185 1/3 innings with 170 strikeouts and a 1.01 WHIP over 30 starts, garnering a 14-7 record.

Fried faced the Phillies four times in 2022, posting a 3.13 ERA and striking out 25 over 23 innings. In his past two starts against Philadelphia, he held them to three runs over 11 innings.

But even after a successful regular season, Fried, like his teammates, is looking to achieve more.

"Max is -- 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, [to] figure out a way. I mean, he's always wanting to get better. And I think that's true of all the really good players.

"He's got a lot of postseason experience under his belt and a lot of confidence in him. I think he's got a lot of confidence in himself, as rightly he should.”