After a back-and-forth victory on Wednesday evening, the Atlanta Braves entered Thursday night’s match-up against the Tampa Bay Rays with the chance to sneak above the .500 mark after one full week of play in 2020. On a night headlined by pitching, the Braves did just enough offensively and the end result was a 2-1 victory.
The tone of the night was set early by Max Fried, who struck out the side in dominant fashion in the first inning.
This video of Max Fried striking out the side is our Emmy nomination. pic.twitter.com/WUttJwhIGa
— FOX Sports: Braves (@FOXSportsBraves) July 30, 2020
After a quiet offensive start in the first inning for Atlanta, Marcell Ozuna singled to lead off the second inning. From there, Adam Duvall was hit by a pitch, setting up Dansby Swanson to continue his hot start with an RBI single to give the Braves a 1-0 lead.
Another day.
— FOX Sports: Braves (@FOXSportsBraves) July 30, 2020
Another Dansby RBI. pic.twitter.com/gXhhFlQ8bG
Johan Camargo then struck out with runners on first and third and no outs, but Austin Riley contributed in a key way with a sacrifice fly to give Atlanta a 2-0 advantage. That swing would prove pivotal, as the home team’s offense wasn’t terribly prolific on this night.
Fortunately, Fried didn’t need much help, and he used only 38 pitches to retire the first 12 batters. The left-hander lost a perfect game bid with two outs in the fifth inning but, on cue, Fried executed a pickoff to ensure that he faced the minimum through five full frames.
Max Fried gets mad, picks off Mike Brosseau after he ruins perfect game. pic.twitter.com/7cp7srJCRJ
— handlit33 (@handlit33) July 31, 2020
After securing two outs in the seventh inning, Fried allowed a double and he was removed in favor of Luke Jackson. The right-handed reliever was tagged with an RBI single — with the earned run charge to Fried — and Atlanta’s advantage was halved in a hurry.
Even with that minor blemish, Fried was fantastic, tossing 6.2 innings and allowing only three hits and one walk to go with seven strikeouts on 87 pitches. Given the uncertain state of the rotation outside of Fried and Mike Soroka, outings like that could be crucial moving forward, and the southpaw delivered in a mighty way on this night.
With Fried out of the game, the fate of the evening was in the hands of the bullpen, as the Braves failed to tack on any more runs to increase the lead. Atlanta did threaten a bit in the bottom of the seventh, placing two runners on base, but couldn’t capitalize after Ronald Acuña produced a harmless flyout to end the inning.
To his credit, Jackson picked up two outs in the eighth before giving way to Shane Greene, who finished the inning quickly. Following another empty threat from the offense in the bottom of the eighth frame, Mark Melancon took the ball in the ninth for the second straight evening at Truist Park.
Duvall contributed in a big way to preserve the one-run lead, making a tremendous catch to secure the first out of the ninth inning.
Got get it, @aduvall123 pic.twitter.com/55Rd22qjEi
— FOX Sports: Braves (@FOXSportsBraves) July 31, 2020
That wasn’t the only moment of peril in the closing frame, though, as Melancon allowed a one-out single to put the tying run on base. In an episode of good future, that base-runner was erased in short order, with pinch-runner Kevin Kiermaier thrown out attempting to steal second base by Tyler Flowers. Seconds later, Melancon picked up the final out and the Braves notched a second straight victory.
Even over the course of a 60-game season, the Braves won’t pick up many wins with only three hits on their offensive ledger. On this night, however, the work of Fried and the bullpen, coupled with only productive inning, was enough to leave the ballpark happy.
The Braves return to action on Friday evening with a home tilt against the New York Mets. Stay tuned.