Atlanta Braves ace Max Fried will try to build on some recent dominating outings on Friday in the opener a four-game homestand against the San Diego Padres.
The left-hander pitched seven no-hit innings against the New York Mets on Saturday and has not allowed a run in three of his last four games. That includes a shutout against the Miami Marlins on April 23, followed by six no-hit innings April 29 versus the Seattle Mariners.
Fried (3-1, 3.57 ERA) will be opposed by Padres right-hander Matt Waldron (1-5, 5.49) in the first meeting between the teams this season. The Padres won four of the seven games against the Braves last year.
Fried walked three and struck out five against the Mets, but left in the midst of throwing a no-hitter after 109 pitches and did not exactly give the outing rave reviews.
“Frankly, I was not very good with my command at all,” Fried said in a nod to the high pitch count. “I was just trying to keep us in the game as long as possible.”
Fried has enjoyed great deal of success in his career against San Diego, the team that chose him in the first round of the 2012 draft. He was traded to Atlanta in December 2014.
In four career starts against the Padres, Fried is 3-0 with a 1.67 ERA. In his lone appearance versus San Diego last year, he delivered five scoreless innings in an early-season win when he was limited to 79 pitches.
Waldron, a knuckleballer, will make his ninth start of the season. He took the loss in his last appearance Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing two runs on two hits, two walks and six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Waldron has never faced the Braves.
Neither team played on Thursday.
The Braves have won six of their last eight and are 2-1 on a seven-game homestand after a 7-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. The Padres were swept at home in a three-game series by the last-place but surging Colorado Rockies. San Diego lost 8-0 on Wednesday.
“There’s definitely some frustration,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “We played from behind all series and couldn’t catch up. The level of frustration is high in relation to the results, but not to how we actually played. They just played better than us.”
The Padres hit the ball well on the road, batting an MLB-best .285 away from home. They have 5.4 runs per game as the visiting team, third-best in baseball.
San Diego outfielder Jurickson Profar is batting .322 with seven homers and 29 RBI and has reached base in 38 of his last 42 games. But over the last seven games he is hitting .227. Profar has a career average of .111 (6-for-54 in 17 games) with one home run against the Braves.
Atlanta will have right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. back in the lineup after he was given the night off Wednesday.
“Kid needs a little breather here,” braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s played every inning of every game. It’s not a bad thing to sit and watch sometimes.”
Atlanta third baseman Austin Riley remains day-to-day with soreness in his side. San Diego catcher Elias Diaz did not play Wednesday because of a sore left hand.
–Field Level Media