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Braves’ Max Fried throws a gem at crucial moment: Will it be his last home start?

Braves’ Max Fried throws a gem at crucial moment: Will it be his last home start?

ATLANTA – As he walked off the field in the ninth inning to a thunderous standing ovation and two outs, Max Fried’s thoughts and emotions were racing. He knew he had done everything in his power to help the Atlanta Braves win a crucial game and that it might be the last time he played in an Atlanta uniform at Truist Park.

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t cross my mind,” Fried said after pitching 8 2/3 dominant innings against the Kansas City Royals on Friday. The 3-0 win helped the Braves move level with the New York Mets in the NL wild-card standings with four games remaining, including a makeup doubleheader on Monday against the Mets.

Both teams, with a record of 87-71, are one percentage point ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks (88-72) as the three vying for the final two wild-card openings.

“I hope to have a lot more (home starts) deep into the playoffs and that we can go as far as we can and hopefully win the whole thing,” Fried said. “But yeah, when I walked away and heard that, it was emotional. I am extremely grateful and very thankful.”

Fried, who was out of contract beyond this season and eligible for free agency this fall, came within one of his pitching, which would have been his second MLB-leading shutout of the season.

But after a two-out walk in the ninth by Bobby Witt Jr. and a double by Michael Massey, Fried settled for a great outing – three hits, two walks, nine strikeouts – his third start in eight or more scoreless runs innings this year, tied for the most in the majors with Seattle’s Luis Castillo.

“He was on a mission,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I mean, he came out of the seventh and said something like, ‘I feel good and do what you need to do.’ And after the eighth, he came out and said, “I’m fine.” Like, “I want this.” And I say, Well, go ahead, you know?”

Fried needed just nine pitches in that perfect eighth inning with two strikeouts.

Asked if Fried excelled when the Braves needed it most, Snitker said: “How many times have we seen Max do that? Just come up big when you need him to and just have another game of his life. And you notice that pretty clearly. I saw the first inning and thought, well, this is going to be a good one. He had everything under control.”

In a way, it worked out perfectly because when Fried handed the ball off to Snitker with one out left, the enthusiastic crowd was able to show their appreciation by standing together and applauding as Fried walked toward the dugout.

“He deserves everything and maybe more,” said catcher Sean Murphy, whose two-run, two-out fourth-inning home run off Royals starter Brady Singer provided all the offense until the eighth inning.

“I think that’s about all he needed tonight. He didn’t need much,” Murphy said of that two-run home run, his 10th. “That was one of the better versions of Max we’ve seen this year. …I mean, you can just talk about him tonight. He pounded through the zone and went right at the guys, and the pitch count was down. He got quick outs. Everything rolled in his direction. You couldn’t ask for more.”

As Fried left the field, instead of keeping his head down like he normally does, he looked up at the crowd and looked in different directions at the Braves fans.

“I just want to thank the fans for pushing us,” Fried said. “They motivate us a lot and make us dig deeper even though we may not think we can do it. But faith and energy help us rise up and do different things that we often didn’t think we could do. In that moment I was just able to acknowledge them a little bit and thank them.”

Raisel Iglesias needed just one throw to reach the final out – a fly to left by Salvador Perez – and complete the Braves’ sixth win in seven games, giving them a season-high 16 games over .500.

Snitker was asked if he was thinking about it possibly being Fried’s last start for the Braves at Truist Park.

“Yeah, that was on my mind before the game,” Snitker said. “This is a special place. It’s a special place to play. I’ve been saying this for as long as I’ve been here, and it wasn’t until I sat in this seat that I realized Braves Country is real. It’s a real thing. And these people are incredible. All over the Southeast – we travel all over the country and feel it.

“There is energy and adrenaline every night in this stadium outside of our dugout. It’s amazing. All summer. You know, I looked up and thought, school’s over and tonight is Friday night football at the high school, and to see the support of the crowd out there, man, that’s something. These guys see it and they feel it.”

The Braves’ final run was one of the more unexpected developments of the season as it came after a bases steal by Marcell Ozuna, the first for the veteran since 2022 and just his third in five seasons. Ozuna, who had led off from eighth base and fought on with a groundout, noticed that reliever Carlos Hernández was slow at the plate and wasn’t paying much attention to the burly DH at second base.

So Ozuna went to third and Perez’s throwing error on the play allowed him to keep running and score.

“The third baseman was behind (the base), so…two outs, so I just left,” Ozuna said, smiling as he recounted the moment. “Alone. I said I’m ready, my legs are ready, I’ve been relaxing the last few days, let me go.”

How surprised was Snitker that he took third place?

“As surprised as anyone in the baseball world,” Snitker said with a laugh. “You gave him the bag.”

In fact, a clubhouse guard grabbed the base that was leaning against Ozuna’s locker after the game.

“I mean, I was wondering,” Snitker said. “He had something there. He felt good about it. I asked myself. But like I said, he made a run that made a game like this huge.”

Ozuna was just happy to extend the lead on a night where Fried tested the team.

“Oh my God, he’s great,” Ozuna said of Fried. “Especially as the season comes to an end, he has turned things around. Another person on the hill. As for me, I never doubted him. He is one of the best. He is amazing. Amazing person. He goes out and grinds every single outing.”

The postponement of two games against the Mets on Wednesday and Thursday because of torrential rain and the approach of Hurricane Helene had the potential to be a setback for the Braves, who had won five of six and finally had some offensive flow before the soggy break.

It was also unwelcome for the Mets, who left for Milwaukee after the postponements and had to return to Atlanta on Monday to play one or both of those games in a doubleheader – the day after the other 28 MLB teams finished their seasons and on the day Before wild card series begin in both leagues.

Despite Friday’s loss, the Royals secured their first postseason berth since 2015 with the Minnesota Twins’ loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Two hours after the game, the Royals took the field at empty Truist Park and celebrated in front of the visitors’ dugout.

For the Braves and Mets, the only way to avoid having to play at least one of those games on Monday is for the NL wild card picture to be cleared before Monday, which is unlikely but not impossible, especially if the Braves continue to pitch and won, as they did when they played again on Friday evening.

Murphy had his own take on the situation, a way to turn the oddity into a positive.

“I think it’s an opportunity to be involved in something weirder, sillier and unprecedented,” he said. “You know, I think a potential doubleheader before the playoffs is kind of fun. And yeah, I think embracing it is the only thing you can do.”

(Photo: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)