ATLANTA _ After Mike Soroka suffered a season-ending Achilles tear on Monday night, Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman predicted Max Fried would "have a little something extra" in his upcoming start.
Freeman's hopes came to fruition Tuesday: Fried mowed down the Blue Jays, allowing one run over six innings, in the Braves' 10-1 win at Truist Park. One day after seeing their five-game winning streak snapped, the Braves rebounded and improved to 8-4.
Soroka wasn't far from his friend's mind during the outing.
"It's been an interesting 24 hours," Fried said. "I think what Freddie said last night summed it all up: It sucked. You see someone who works so hard, especially the way that Mike does, just the passion he has for it, then a season-ending injury after experiencing one before (in 2018), it's heartbreaking. The good thing is how good spirits he was, how positive he is. ... I know that if anyone is able to come back even better, it's going to be him."
Fried was mostly sharp, scattering four hits, three strikeouts and two walks over his 80-pitch night. He was charged his only earned run on what looked like an Austin Riley error with two outs in the fifth. Anthony Alford hit a ball to third that deflected off Riley's glove and into left field, allowing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to score.
It appeared Riley simply missed the ball, but the play was ruled a single, thus charging an earned run to Fried. If Riley fields the ball cleanly, a routine throw to first would've ended the inning.
Outside the single blunder, Fried was in complete control. He allowed two baserunners across the first four frames. He produced a five-pitch third inning, quickly retiring the Blue Jays with a pop out and two grounders.
"He fought through some spots but that's exactly what we needed," manager Brian Snitker said. "We needed a strong start. He had a lot of emotions going with his buddy going down last night. I'm sure he felt like he needed to step up, and he damn sure did."
When Soroka went down, Fried, 26, assumed the role as the Braves' ace. He's looked the part through three starts: Fried has allowed four earned runs on nine hits over 17-2/3 innings. He's struck out 15 and walked five while holding opponents to a lowly .155 average.
"He definitely has the makeup (of a frontline starter)," said catcher Tyler Flowers, who had two hits, including a homer, on Tuesday. "The weapons he has, he has the ability to get out of any situation. He's grown so much. He's more comfortable with his delivery and executing pitches. He's been pretty consistent and successful."
Fried's reliability is integral at a time the rest of the rotation lacks such. The Braves can bank on Fried covering innings and keeping them in the game, a comfort they haven't yet found in any of their other pitchers.
But at least they have Fried, who after an encouraging 2019 _ his first full major-league season _ continues trending in the right direction. If Tuesday was an indication, he's ready for the increased responsibility.
"The thing I've struggled with most so far is wanting to do more, feeling like my best isn't enough and wanting to do extra," Fried said. "So for me, it's just staying with myself, trusting catchers, coaches, everyone in my preparation. As long as I go out there and do my best, that's good enough. At the end of the day, all we're trying to do is win games. It's been weird getting back in the swing of things, but we're starting to get (settled in) and make the most of it."
