After pitching 8.2 shutout innings, Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Max Fried received a standing ovation in the bottom of the ninth of the Braves’ 3-0 win over the Kansas City Royals in what could have been Fried’s last game at Truist Park, this season. With four games remaining and a potential three-way tie with the New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks brewing, Braves manager Brian Snitker is delaying Chris Sale’s next start amid a postseason push. After Friday’s win, Fried spoke to the ovation he received, considering it could have been his last start of the year, per The Athletic’s David O’Brien.
“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t cross my mind,” Fried said.
With the win, the Braves (87-71) tied the Mets for second place in the NL Wild Card standings, with the Diamondbacks trailing by half a game.
“I hope that I have many more (home starts) deep in the playoffs and that we go as far as we can and hopefully win the whole thing,” Fried added. “But, yeah, walking off and hearing that, it was emotional. I’m extremely thankful and very grateful.”
Fried surrendered only three hits and two walks before finishing with nine strikeouts and zero runs in the Braves’ 3-0 win.
Brian Snitker says Max Fried was ‘on a mission’ in 3-0 win versus Royals
Brett Davis-Imagn Images
The Braves’ starting pitcher, Max Fried, was in the zone during the Braves’ 3-0 win against the Royals on Friday. With playoff implications on the line, Fried kept the Braves playoff hopes alive. Manager Brian Snitker could see a high focus in Fried’s eyes after the seventh inning when the starting pitcher insisted on going deep into the game before eventually heading back to the mound at the bottom of the ninth inning.
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“He was on a mission,” Snitker said. “I mean, he came out of the seventh and was kind of like, ‘I feel good, and do what you got to do.’ And he came off after the eighth and says, ‘I’m good.’ Like, ‘I want this.’ And I’m saying, well, go ahead, you know?”
Fried needed only nine pitches for a perfect two-strikeout eighth inning.
“We’ve seen Max do that how many times? Just come up big when you need him, just have a game of his life again,” Snitker added. “And you can pretty much tell. I saw that first inning and I was thinking, well, this is going to be a good one. He had everything going.”
Game 2 of their three-game series against the Royals continues Saturday night.
Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. Josue got his start as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com. He grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media, where he is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.
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