Max Fried joins Greg Maddux in history books and proves why Braves must pay him

Max Fried entered Tuesday's matchup with the Miami Marlins on a serious downturn. In four starts (16.1 innings pitched), Fried had a 7.71 ERA and 1.959 WHIP. Truly awful, especially relative to the Cy Young-level expectations that followed Fried into the final year of his contract with the Atlanta Braves.

The MLB, like any sports league, encourages overreactions to small sample sizes. We all heard the buzz about Fried's waning contract value. Maybe the Braves shouldn't pay him. Maybe he's not going to get a bag.

In the end, however, the law of averages is undefeated. Great pitchers have slumps, the same as every position in baseball. How the great pitchers rebound from those slumps is precisely what makes them great.

Fried appeared to find his stuff Tuesday evening. Granted, the Marlins aren't some elite offense, but Fried took Miami to the woodshed. He pitched nine shutout innings, allowing only three hits and striking out six in 92 pitches.

In the process, Fried inscribed his name in the history books. He became the 41st MLB pitcher to achieve three complete-game shutouts on fewer than 100 pitches. The all-time leader? Braves legend Greg Maddux, who accomplished the feat 15 times.

Max Fried joins Greg Maddux in Braves history books with dominant complete-game shutout

This is why the Braves have to pay Fried. This was never going to be a prolonged spiral. He's far too reliable, and far too essential to Atlanta's success. The Spencer Strider injury only illuminates Fried's importance further. He is a bonafide ace, one capable of leading the Braves deep into the postseason if needed.

Strider should be back next season, but he now has two UCL surgeries under his belt. Charlie Morton is set to retire at season's end, and Chris Sale is 35. The Braves are surely optimistic about the fruits of their farm system, including the red-hot Reynaldo Lopez, but Fried's excellence is matched by very few around the league. He gives Atlanta leeway that evaporates in his absence.

Fried is the primary reason for confidence in the Braves' injury-shortened bullpen. If the Braves let him walk over quibbles about money, it will be exceedingly difficult to find a suitable replacement. Alex Anthopoulos has earned the benefit of the doubt, and he's great about unearthing affordable impact talent. But, frankly, letting Fried leave would be a rare A.A. blunder.

The Braves move to 16-6 with Tuesday's win, giving them a nice two-game cushion over the Philadelphia Phillies. The hope will be that Fried can build on this performance and lay his slump to rest for good. Assuming that Fried is back back, well, Atlanta just got scarier.