SAN FRANCISCO -- When it comes to lofty standards, the bar that Max Fried has set for himself may be among the highest in the league.

The Braves are accustomed to excellence from their ace, who is coming off one of the finest seasons of his professional career, one that saw him finish second in National League Cy Young Award balloting. But Fried's extended time on the injured list this season has kept him from finding his top form.

Fried looked quite a bit like his usual dominant self as he struck out a season-high-tying eight Giants batters across six innings in Saturday's 7-3 win at Oracle Park, helping Atlanta earn its NL-leading 40th road win and reel off five straight series victories.

But as far as the Atlanta left-hander is concerned, he's still figuring things out on the mound.

"Definitely feel like it's time where I need to start getting better," said Fried, whose lone blemish was Wilmer Flores' game-tying two-run shot in the third inning. "Giving up less walks, less hard contact. Definitely not happy about giving up that homer, especially to give up the lead.

"But the guys did an unbelievable job battling, fighting back, working to get a couple of runs across. I was just happy to be able to hold it and then hand it off to the bullpen, who's been incredible."

Even when Fried is not at his best -- he allowed two runs on six hits and two walks in Saturday's quality start -- the Braves will gladly take it.

"He's one of the top guys in the game," manager Brian Snitker said. "This is his, what, fifth start [since returning from the IL], I think, and you know, he's just going to continue to get better."

Following a three-month absence due to a left forearm strain, Fried has dealt with some inconsistency in five starts in August. He expressed some frustration with his progress after his previous start, which also came against the Giants last Sunday at Truist Park, when he gave up three runs on a season-high nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.

In a typical season uninhibited by injury, Fried said he often gets his feel for his stuff before the All-Star break and then polishes things up during the second half. This year, his timeline is accelerated.

"I've got to kind of just get going and hold myself to a little different higher standard," Fried said. "Just be able to go out there and know that it's time to win baseball games and not feel things out no more."

The 29-year-old southpaw may not have felt at his best, but Atlanta's offense supplied its typical barrage of runs in order to get in position to sweep San Francisco on the road for the first time since 2018.

Matt Olson drove in a pair of runs in his first two at-bats to increase his MLB-leading RBI total to 112. Austin Riley drilled a go-ahead blast to left in the fifth inning, joining Olson in the 30-homer club. Orlando Arcia chipped in an insurance run with a solo shot of his own in the sixth, becoming the eighth Brave with at least 15 homers this season and tying the franchise record set last year.

Ronald Acuña Jr. inched closer to 60 steals, swiping his 59th bag in the third inning. With one more steal, Acuña will produce just the seventh 20-homer, 60-stolen base season in AL/NL history.

Though the Braves don't have the added urgency of a tightly contested divisional race -- their lead in the NL East sits at 13 1/2 games -- their drive to compete has not diminished.

"We've got a group that … we come to the yard and we want to get better," Riley said. "We do stay on each other quite a bit, but in a good, fun, light way."

With the most potent offense in baseball in his corner, Fried is well aware that he has a little more margin for error than most pitchers on any given day. 

"It makes it so I don't have to feel like I have to be perfect and go out there and throw up zeros every time," Fried said. "Obviously, I want to go out there and keep runs off the board. But knowing that if I have a little slip-up like today, as long as I keep my head down and just keep trying to put up some zeros, that they're gonna explode at any time."