Max Fried Delivered When the Atlanta Braves Needed Him Most

Max Fried delivered an exceptional performance when the Atlanta Braves needed him most in game 6 of the World Series.

Max Fried stepped up and delivered an inspired performance on the mound for the Atlanta Braves in game 6 of the 2021 World Series.

Yes, guys like Jorge Soler (the World Series MVP), Dansby Swanson, and Freddie Freeman gave Max a comfortable lead to work with. However, Fried did his part shutting down the Astros over 6 innings.

In fact, there was some fans wanting to see Fried start the 7th inning because of how well he was pitching. We cannot really blame Brian Snitker for going to the Night Shift to cover the final 3 innings though, those guys were virtually unhittable the entire postseason.

Yet, it started with Max Fried who never let the Astros hitters get into a rhythm. It could have easily gone the other way, as two men reached to leadoff the game thanks to an infield single (.230 xBA) and a fielding error.

The error was a scary moment as Fried had his ankle stepped on at first base.

It was a miracle that Fried was not seriously injured on the play. It was incredible that after this happened, he got out of the 1st inning, with runners on first and second and nobody out, without allowing a run.

It appears that having his ankle stepped on just made Max mad, and a mad Max Fried is not a good sign for the opposing team.

Max Fried Was Brilliant

There were those that was worried about Fried coming into the game. That was because his last two postseason games, were not typical Max Fried games.

• NLCS Game 5: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, 2 HR
• World Series Game 2: 5 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO

There was some concern coming into game 6 with Fried. However, this is Max Fried we are talking about.

This is the guy who pitched to a 3.04 ERA, 3.49 xERA, 3.31 FIP, 3.45 xFIP, a 3.8 fWAR, and a 5.4 bWAR this season. Fried’s 145 Adjusted ERA+ was good for 7th in all of baseball.

This is the guy who had a sub 2 ERA in the second half of the season, and singlehandedly won the Braves a few games in a playoff push.

That was the guy who stepped on the mound in game 6. Fried pitched 6 innings, allowing only 4 hits, striking out 6, and not allowing a run against the Astros. A team who had the highest team wRC+ (116) and offensive WAR (33.9) this season in all of baseball.

It was a dominating performance. His .141 xwOBA (Expected Weighted On-Base Average) allowed was the 4th best start in postseason history in the statcast era.

In terms of xwOBA allowed, it was the best performance by a starting pitcher in postseason history in a series clinching game.

Deservedly so, Soler gets a lot of credit for his massive home run. Soler had a wPA (Win Probability Added) of 0.261. Fried’s wPA was 0.240. That’s how impressive this performance was.

For comparison, Tom Glavine’s 1995 Game 6 registered a 0.586 wPA. While it may not have been as dominant as Glavine’s performance according to wPA, Fried’s performance will be talked about for years.

Back in December 2014, the Atlanta Braves traded Justin Upton to the San Diego Padres. In return, they acquired several prospects, the centerpiece being Max Fried.

Fried was one of the top pitching prospects in baseball but was on the shelf after undergoing Tommy John surgery at the time of the trade. The Braves took a shot on him bouncing back and placed a lot of faith in him being one of the key pieces of the rebuild.

It is safe to say that trade worked out in the Braves favor. The guy that was the centerpiece of one of the biggest moves of the tear down, became one of the fan favorites of the rebuild, and just pitched a masterful game to win the World Series.

Max Fried will be a Braves legend forever.