Atlanta Braves: Max Fried, Austin Riley Stay Hot in Win

The Atlanta Braves certainly had reason to be down, but they still come out and got the victory.

Most fans wanted something, heck I am sure privately many of the players on the Atlanta Braves wanted something. But nothing was given to the club in the form of a hitter or more importantly, a starting pitcher on the MLB trade deadline day.

The Atlanta Braves had reason to come out flat against the Boston Red Sox on Monday, especially if you combine the fact they did not get into town until the middle of the night after Sunday night’s clash with the Phillies.

To the game action though, no Ronald Acuna in the lineup nor Travis d’Arnaud. It was a good thing the Boston Red Sox pitching staff is pretty terrible from the top to the bottom because the Atlanta Braves were still able to put up 6 runs in the 6-3 win over the Sox.

After Dansby Swanson was knocked in during the top half of the first, if you were like me, you were hoping that was enough run support for Max Fried who has been dominant so far in 2020. Turns out, it was not as Fried had less than stellar stuff on the night, but like all great pitchers, he found a way to battle and get through 5 innings of two run ball and was able to collect another win on his record.

The fifth inning was where the big blow for the Atlanta Braves happened as they loaded the bases with 0 outs. Now being fair, we have seen that multiple times where the Braves struck out and then grounded into a double play but Austin Riley came within two feet of pesky’s pole and hit a three run triple to give the Atlanta Braves a 5-2 lead. It’s a good thing too because the next three batters all promptly struck out.

The Atlanta Braves bullpen came in and did their thing for the most part except for Will Smith who struggled once again. Do not be worried though, as he is too good to keep struggling and remember….his season is still in the early stages.

So on a day when most Atlanta Braves fans wanted to throw eggs at Alex Anthopolous car, and they may be justified in doing so, the Atlanta Braves defeating the Boston Red Sox will at least allow us to go to bed in a decent mood.

The same two teams will go to battle again on Tuesday night.