Braves’ Max Fried finds footing in World Series clincher

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Baseball Writer

HOUSTON — Max Fried recovered his footing connected the mound for the Atlanta Braves aft getting stepped connected aboriginal successful Game 6 of the World Series.

The young left-hander looked similar an ace again, and the Braves clinched their archetypal title since 1995, which came lone a fewer months earlier Fried’s 2nd birthday.

Fried got 18 outs against the 19 batters helium faced aft his close ankle got stomped connected by Michael Brantley’s rubber cleat and became the archetypal pitcher successful this World Series to implicit six innings. The erstwhile Harvard-Westlake standout was trying to screen archetypal basal aft Houston’s 2nd batter of the crippled connected Tuesday nighttime deed a dilatory grounder fielded by archetypal baseman Freddie Freeman.

“It didn’t consciousness good, but astatine that point, it’s the World Series. You conscionable got to fig retired however to get through,” Fried said. “It was much of it got tight, but it was ne'er immoderate shooting symptom oregon thing excessively terrible oregon uncomfortable.”

When umpire Chris Conroy signaled safe, Fried instantly pointed astatine his close foot, and not due to the fact that helium was hurting. He was indicating that Brantley had stepped connected his foot, which was bent somewhat awkwardly but not successful interaction with the base.

The Braves didn’t reason the call, alternatively moving rapidly to cheque that Fried was OK.

Six days aft losing Game 2 successful Houston, helium was conscionable fine. Fried struck retired six without a locomotion and constricted the Astros to 4 singles successful a 7-0 win.

Braves manager Brian Snitker described Fried getting stepped connected arsenic “very scary,” and said it brought backmost a speedy flashback to Game 1 starter Charlie Morton taking a comebacker disconnected his close limb that resulted successful a fractured fibula.

“I was conscionable gladsome erstwhile helium got up and threw that everything was good,” Snitker said. “Then helium had a truly stressful inning aft that. I was conscionable benignant of wondering what that was going to take, that full incidental would instrumentality retired of him, and helium rebounded and did a large occupation obviously.”

Mission Viejo High merchandise Tyler Matzek pitched 2 scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts earlier Will Smith, the person and 3rd lefty successful a enactment to transportation for the Braves, worked the ninth to wrapper up the archetypal shutout successful a World Series clincher since the Chicago White Sox won, 1-0, successful the aforesaid stadium successful 2005 to decorativeness a four-game expanse of the Astros.

Jose Altuve led disconnected with an infield azygous earlier Brantley reached connected what was ruled an mistake connected Fried. But they were some near stranded when Carlos Correa struck out, cleanup hitter Yordan Alvarez grounded retired and AL batting champion Yuli Gurriel took 3 strikes successful a row.

After getting stepped on, Fried said his lone interest was having runners connected archetypal and 2nd with cipher out.

“I didn’t privation the inning to get retired of hand,” helium said. “For me, I didn’t privation to person a repetition of Game 2 wherever 4 runs travel crossed and you look up and you’re down by a lot. So I conscionable knew that I had to truly conscionable carnivore down.”

Houston had leadoff singles successful some the 3rd and 4th innings earlier treble plays. That included a comebacker by Brantley successful the third, erstwhile Fried turned and fired to shortstop Dansby Swanson for the relay to first.

When Altuve got to the sheet for the 3rd clip with 1 retired successful the sixth, Fried threw a brace of offspeed pitches for strikes earlier a regular infield pop-up. Brantley singled connected a dilatory roller that Swanson fielded successful shallow halfway tract earlier Correa struck retired for the 2nd clip to extremity the inning connected Fried’s 74th and last pitch.

“That was Max Fried. He had a small spot connected his shoulder, I think, aft the past mates starts. But what you guys saw contiguous was what we saw for months during the season,” said Freeman, the longtime Braves archetypal baseman from El Modena High, who homered and had an RBI treble successful the clincher. “An unthinkable show erstwhile we needed it most.”

In Game 2 past Wednesday, Fried retired 10 batters successful a enactment successful his first-ever World Series start. But that came aft a four-run 2nd inning that enactment the Astros up to enactment successful a 7-2 win, lone the 2nd clip each twelvemonth helium mislaid consecutive starts.

Six days earlier that, helium gave up 5 runs and 8 hits implicit 4-2/3 innings against the Dodgers successful an 11-2 nonaccomplishment erstwhile the Braves had a accidental to wrapper up the NL Championship Series successful Game 5 astatine Dodger Stadium. That had been the archetypal clip since June 1 that helium didn’t marque it past the 5th inning.

Fried became the archetypal starting pitcher with astatine slightest six strikeouts without walking a batter successful a imaginable World Series clincher. The past pitcher without a locomotion successful astatine slightest six scoreless innings successful a clincher was Bret Saberhagen for Kansas City successful Game 7 successful 1985.

It was the ninth vocation postseason commencement for the 27-year-old Fried. The lone Braves with much are Tom Glavine (32), John Smoltz (27), Greg Maddux (27) – each 3 of them Hall of Fame pitchers – and Steve Avery 12.

Fried enactment connected rather a amusement for Braves fans, 2 of his precocious schoolhouse teammates who were determination to ticker – Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito and St. Louis pitcher Jack Flaherty – and Matt LaCour, the manager of their celebrated Harvard-Westlake squad from 2012.

All 3 of those erstwhile teammates were Opening Day MLB starters this season. Only Fried made it to the last game.

"It's indescribable"@MaxFried32 threw 6 scoreless innings to pb the @Braves to the clinch successful Game 6.@HeidiWatney I #WorldSeries I #BattleATL pic.twitter.com/S22E434692

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 3, 2021

.@MaxFried32's 98.4 MPH K is the fastest onslaught of his vocation (reg. and #postseason). pic.twitter.com/fc7IGKchr7

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) November 3, 2021

Harvard-Westlake successful the gathering to enactment precocious schoolhouse teammate @MaxFried32! #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/xsYvK60BK1

— MLB (@MLB) November 3, 2021

The stars of Game 6. pic.twitter.com/VaeY6YgOii

— MLB (@MLB) November 3, 2021