SAN FRANCISCO — The Atlanta Braves got high-level pitching in the first three games of their series against the San Francisco Giants, accompanied by just enough clutch hitting to pull out 10-inning wins in the first two and a four-homer barrage in a blowout win in the third.
But in Thursday’s series finale, they got none of the above, as Max Fried continued to struggle trying to find his All-Star form and the Giants’ Logan Webb pitched a gem into the eighth inning of a 6-0 win over the Braves, who are 4-3 after the first two stops of an important three-city trip that continues Friday in Anaheim against the Angels.
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The good news for the Braves was an MRI on outfielder Jorge Soler’s left hamstring revealed only a mild strain and the slugger is listed as day-to-day. Soler had four homers in the three-game series to start the trip, and in 13 games since being traded from the Giants to the Braves at the deadline, he has a .400 OBP, 11 RBIs and a .978 OPS.
After getting Michael Harris II back from a 60-day injured-list stint for a Grade 2 hamstring strain and watching the center fielder hit a grand slam in the second pitch he saw in his first game back Wednesday, the Braves certainly can’t afford to have another key outfielder miss significant time. In Soler’s case, it appears they dodged that bullet.
#Braves' Fried: 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 K, 106/67.
He didn't have a great day, but his last run scored on a homer off Chavez, who had a really bad day.
Chavez: 1 1/3 IP, 4 H (all XBH), 3 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 2HR.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) August 15, 2024
Takeaways from a 3-1 series win that ended with a thud:
Max Fried struggling to regain All-Star form
For the Braves to have any shot at catching the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East or to continue holding off several teams for the final wild-card spot, the Braves need Fried to return to form.
Especially since Reynaldo López showed signs of fatigue before landing on the 15-day IL for forearm tightness and already has far surpassed his innings total from any year since 2019, his last full season as a regular starter. López is expected to come off the IL to start Tuesday or Wednesday against the Phillies in Atlanta.
Fried was charged with five hits, three runs and three walks in 5 1/3 innings of Thursday’s loss, and in three starts since his IL stint he’s 0-2 with a 7.90 ERA, allowing 16 hits, 12 earned runs and 11 walks with 20 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings. He went on the IL with forearm neuritis after pitching one inning in the All-Star Game.
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“Max struggled through,” Snitker said of Thursday’s game. “He’s still fighting like heck to find himself and get in a rhythm and things like that.”
In his last 16 starts before the All-Star break, Fried had a 2.36 ERA with 89 strikeouts and 30 walks in 103 innings. He said he executed pitches better Thursday than in his first two starts off the IL.
“But when it came down to needing to make pitches with runners in scoring position, especially early on, I didn’t do as much as I wanted,” Fried said. “Just needing to bear down and make some pitches, especially going up against a really good pitcher, you know that runs are going to be at a premium. Definitely frustrated that I put us in a hole early.”
Snitker endorses Marcell Ozuna as an MVP candidate
Despite having a rare bad series against the Giants, Marcell Ozuna still led the NL with 90 RBIs and ranked second in batting average (.298) and homers (35) after Thursday’s game, two fewer homers than the Dodgers’ NL leader Shohei Ohtani and five more than anyone else in the league.
Unlike fellow DH Ohtani, you rarely hear Ozuna mentioned among NL MVP frontrunners. Snitker thinks he should be. He doesn’t think any player has been as important to a team’s success this season as Ozuna.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “On our club, with what we’ve been through and what he’s done for this team, no. With all respect to all them other guys, as far as we go, yeah, definitely our MVP. He’s just been so consistent from Day 1. And I’d hate to think where we’d be without him.”
The Braves got a look at where their offense would be without him against the Giants, when Ozuna went 3-for-17 with one RBI and his highest strikeout total (10) for any four-game stretch all season. Not coincidentally, the offense was stagnant in three of the four games. The exception was Wednesday when the Braves had four homers in a 13-2 win.
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Atlanta totaled five runs in the other three games of the series including 1-0 and 4-3 wins in the first two games, a pair of 10-inning games decided by Travis d’Arnaud 10th-inning RBIs.
Ohtani led the NL in fWAR before Thursday with 5.8, while Ozuna was seventh at 3.8. Ohtani’s far superior base running accounted for much of the disparity in the two DH’s fWAR, along with advantages of 12 points in OBP and 25 points in slugging percentage over Ozuna before Thursday.
Still, in terms of importance or value to his team, it’s difficult to name an NL player more critical to his squad’s success than Ozuna, in a season when every returner from the Braves’ record-setting 2023 offense except Ozuna and d’Arnaud has had significant statistical decline and/or been injured.
Ozuna has been neither. He’s started all 121 games. And after hitting .274 with 40 homers, 100 RBIs and a .905 OPS in 2023, he’s hitting 24 points higher this season, has an OPS 44 points higher, and he’s on pace for 46 homers and 120 RBIs.
Ozzie Albies ready to see ‘Wash’ in Anaheim
Injured second baseman Ozzie Albies is on this trip despite having a hard cast on his left arm to protect the wrist he fractured on July 21. Albies isn’t expected back from the IL until mid-September, and the Braves rarely have players travel with the team if there’s no chance they’ll be activated during a trip. They made an exception for Albies, who’s been working out in the weight room with teammates before games on the road and throwing in the outfield.
“They asked about Ozzie coming and I was like, ‘Heck yeah,’” Snitker said. “I mean, I love having Ozzie around. And it’s good that they can keep (working with him), doing all the rehab stuff. But it’s just good to have him with the guys. I’m glad he can be out here with his teammates, instead of just going to the stadium (in Atlanta) and doing rehab and going home.”
Third baseman Austin Riley smiled and said Albies came on the trip just so he could see Ron Washington, 72, who’s in his first season as Angels manager after seven seasons as Braves third-base coach and infield instructor.
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Though “Wash,” as he’s known throughout baseball, was beloved by all Braves players and staffers, the infielders were especially tight with him and none more than Albies, who viewed him as a second father. The two often sounded more like big brother/little brother with their constant razzing of each other before, after and even during games.
Washington was joined on his Angels staff by former Braves first-base coach Eric Young Sr. and trainer Mike Frostad.
When told what Riley had said about him making the trip just to see Washington, Albies laughed and refuted that. Well, somewhat.
“I’ve never been to Anaheim, so I wanted to see what it is in Anaheim, and that will complete me going to all the stadiums in the big leagues,” Albies said. “I’m happy that I’ve been able to do that. And obviously going there with Wash, EY, Frosty, couple of people we know, it’s an honor.”
While Albies and the Braves have dealt with a ton of injuries and adversity this season, they’re still seven games over .500 and in position to make the playoffs. But the Angels? They were just 52-69 before Thursday and look ready to slip into last place in the AL West behind the surging Oakland Athletics.
Albies and Washington stay in contact via texts and occasional calls. He was asked how Washington was holding up.
“I mean, mentally he’s pretty strong, so all he’s doing is what he can do to help the team,” Albies said. “I know he’s 100 percent trying to do everything he can to help the team get W’s. He ain’t gonna give up. He never gave up on us, so I don’t think he’s going to give up trying to build the team over there.”
(Photo of Max Fried: Lachlan Cunningham / Getty Images)
David O'Brien is a senior writer covering the Atlanta Braves for The Athletic. He previously covered the Braves for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and covered the Marlins for eight seasons, including the 1997 World Series championship. He is a two-time winner of the NSMA Georgia Sportswriter of the Year award. Follow David on Twitter @DOBrienATL
