Fried, Braves hold off Brewers to tie series
BRAVES 3 BREWERS 0
MILWAUKEE — Max Fried says his strategy in pressure situations is to avoid making too much of the moment.
The approach that worked so well for the Braves left-hander in the regular season also is paying dividends in the playoffs.
Fried pitched six sharp innings and Atlanta’s bullpen held on after manager Brian Snitker’s quick hook, sending the Braves over the Brewers, 3-0, on Saturday to tie their NL Division Series at a game apiece.
The best-of-five series heads to Atlanta for Game 3 on Monday.
“He was phenomenal — all you could ask for,” said Atlanta’s Austin Riley, who homered in the sixth inning. “He came out, pounded the zone. He’s been doing that since the All-Star break.”
Once Fried was pulled, it got more dicey for the Braves.
The Brewers brought the tying run to the plate against Atlanta’s bullpen in each of the last three innings, but couldn’t get a key hit. They couldn’t do much of anything against Fried, who has allowed just one earned run over 29 innings in his last four starts.
Fried struck out nine, gave up three hits and didn’t walk anybody. The Brewers didn’t get a runner into scoring position until Willy Adames hit a two-out double in the sixth, and Fried responded by striking out Eduardo Escobar.
“He’s just a really good pitcher, executing a lot of pitches,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “It spells a tough night for the offense.”
Fried went 7-0 with a 1.46 ERA over his last 11 regularseason starts, while pitching his best down the stretch.
He produced arguably Atlanta’s biggest pitching performance of the regular season Sept. 25. The Braves had lost to San Diego earlier that day in the resumption of a suspended game. Hours later, Fried threw a three-hit shutout to stabilize their division lead.
Fried delivered again Saturday as the Braves bounced back from a 2-1 loss in Game 1.
“You just try to focus and realize that this is the same game we’ve been playing all year,” Fried said. “The stakes might be a little bit higher, but you go out there and make the pitch that you’re supposed to make, that’s going to trump all.”
This was the second straight exceptional outing by a Braves starter in a series that has been dominated by pitching.
Atlanta’s Charlie Morton held Milwaukee scoreless through six innings Friday, but allowed a two-run homer to Rowdy Tellez in the seventh inning on his 85th and final pitch.