Fried went seven innings and the bullpen lasted late into the night, giving Atlanta its second straight win in LA
Max Fried was brilliant, the offense continued its torrid home run pace, and the Braves defeated the Dodgers for the second straight year, 6-3, in front of a packed house at Chavez Ravine.
For a slight change, Fried and catcher Travis d’Arnaud resorted to traditional signs instead of using the PitchCom device. It also felt like Fried was a little more deliberate on the mound and used more pitch clock allocation between throws. Although the results have been fine since returning from the IL, it felt like Max was ever so slightly underperforming over the last month as he regained his stamina after the injury. On Friday evening we were treated to the full Max Fried experience.
In total, Fried pitched seven innings of shutout ball. He set a season high with 10 strikeouts. He gave up just three hits and two walks, and a Dodger runner didn’t reach scoring position until the seventh. What an achievement.
Travis d’Arnaud made the final score 1-0 in the second period with a solo shot down the left field line. The Braves appeared to be in business with two scorers and Michael Harris leading the way when Eddie Rosario inexplicably tried to get home. It required a great catch and tag from catcher Will Smith, but Rosario was thrown out at the plate and Harris popped up on the next pitch.
Luckily, the flawed base path decision didn’t affect Atlanta.
Ronald Acuña Jr., who became the first 30-60 player of the game on Thursday night, added another in the third inning to make it 2-0. Ronald also doubled and stole a base to increase his season total to 63.
In the fourth, Marcell Ozuna followed up his scoring with a home run of his own. The Braves scored two more runs in the fifth and another in the eighth thanks to a single by Eddie Rosario to make the score 6-0.
Things got strange in the bottom of the eighth when Pierce Johnson, who has performed tremendously since the trade deadline, was unlucky. Ozzie Albies bobbled what should have been at least one out to put two runners on base. With the score at 6-0 and two minutes later, Dave Roberts inexplicably pulled Mookie Betts from the game. And then he did it with Freddie Freeman too. In this case, pinch hitter Kolten Wong hit a ball on his shoelaces just over the right field wall to make it 6-3. Johnson allowed two more runners before finally giving way to Michael Tonkin, who mercifully ended the threat with a strikeout by Chris Taylor.
In the ninth, Kirby Yates recorded the final three outs without any drama. Raisel Iglesias, who pitched the last three nights, was unavailable.
The Braves have a record of 89-45. At worst, they split the series in Los Angeles and won seven of the first eight games on this West Coast road trip.
The series continues Saturday night in Los Angeles when Bryce Elder takes on a Dodger bullpen game. Elder struggled at times in the second half, posting a 4.78 ERA in eight starts. Dave Roberts hasn’t announced his starter yet, but it’s expected a handful of players will cover the early and middle innings. First pitch will take place an hour earlier at 9:10 p.m. ET.
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