Max Fried exits game after one inning and Braves Country promptly panics
By John Buhler
Max Fried tweaked his ankle and had to exit the game after one inning.
Max Fried was removed from Wednesday’s start after one inning for precautionary reasons.
Fried has been the Atlanta Braves‘ ace throughout most of the 60-game, coronavirus-shortened MLB season. Once his starting rotation buddy Mike Soroka tore his Achilles’ tendon in his third start of the season, Fried carried the loathsome burden of the Braves’ rotation all the way to the IL. Oh, he returned all right, as the Braves clinched their third straight NL East division title on Tuesday.
LHP Max Fried was removed from tonight’s game as a precaution after tweaking his left ankle fielding a bunt in the first inning.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 23, 2020
The @Braves bullpen is up and working in the first inning.
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) September 23, 2020
Here's the scene in the dugout with Max Fried and Freddie Freeman. pic.twitter.com/lHpIX6XDza
It was precautionary, but don’t tell that to Braves Country, who is panicking.
It was a tough final start of the regular season for Fried. He gave up his first and only home run of the season against first basemen Jose Aguilar. This dinger came after Fried looked to have tweaked his ankle fielding a bunt off the bat of centerfielder Starling Marte. With the division all locked up and bigger fish to fry later than the Miami Marlins, that was it for Fried.
You could see by what FOX Sports Southeast captured on video. Braves play-by-play guy Chip Caray interpreted what team leader and NL MVP candidate Freddie Freeman was saying to a frustrated Fried. The Braves won’t catch the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in baseball. They’re either going to be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the NL postseason, and they need Fried.
It’s no secret what the Braves’ Achilles’ heel is (awful pun intended). They can out-slug any offense they come up against. Atlanta can play great defense with the best of them. The bullpen is about as stout as they come in the baseball. But that starting rotation has been a perpetual eyesore all season long. Very few starters outside of Fried can be trusted to not screw up in their starts.
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You could tell by Fried’s reaction that he was bummed to be pulled from the game. This was not his choice, but his skipper Brian Snitker‘s. The best-of-three series at Truist Park early next week vs. the NL’s No. 6 or No. 7 seed is as high stakes as they come. Atlanta needs Fried to be fully healthy and go as deep as he possibly can in Game 1 of that three-game series.
It was precautionary, but every member of Braves Country yelled an expletive at the TV just now.