He's back, baby! After missing a good chunk of the season, Braves ace Max Fried returned to the field against the Chicago Cubs. Facing a familiar face in Dansby Swanson, Fried picked up where he left off. The lefty ace struck out eight en route to an 8-0 shutout win over Chicago.

After the game, Fried talked about the emotions he felt during his return, per The Athletic. The Braves pitcher admitted that he had a nervous energy to him before the game, but that he felt sharper in his first game back.

“I felt sharper than expected,” said Fried, the 2022 National League Cy Young Award runner-up, who had been out since May 5 with a forearm strain. “I had a lot of nervous energy, just was looking forward to this day for a long time. These guys have been doing so good for so long, that I just kind of wanted to try to seamlessly fit in and not try to mess anything up.”

To say that Fried fit in with the Braves' dominant players was an understatement. The ace racked up eight Ks, while allowing no walks and just three hits in six innings of play. It was the same Max Fried that was tearing it up for Atlanta over the last few years, which is an encouraging sign.

The Braves now await the return of another star arm in their starting rotation. Kyle Wright, who's also been out with a significant injury, should be making his return soon. The Braves were already ridiculously unfair even while Fried and Wright were injured. Now, with them joining a rotation spearheaded by superstar sophomore Spencer Strider, they're just going to be even more broken,