BALTIMORE – Travis d’Arnaud celebrated his new contract with a two-run homer, Jorge Soler also went deep and Max Fried was sharp Friday night as the Atlanta Braves shut out the Baltimore Orioles 3-0, with the National League East Division leaders extending their streak of wins to seven while handing the hosts their 16th straight defeat.
Fried (11-7) allowed four hits in his first nine-inning complete game as an MLB pitcher, and the Braves matched a single-season franchise record for the modern era with their 11th consecutive road win. The last time that happened was in 1956, when the team was based in Milwaukee.
Atlanta improved to 66-56 overall, having not reached .500 for the season until early this month.
Baltimore’s losing streak is its second longest since moving from St. Louis in 1954, topped only by the 1988 team that started the season 0-21. The Orioles have been outscored 141-42 during their current skid, which has left them with the worst record in the majors at 38-83.
Hours before the game, d’Arnaud signed a two-year, $16 million extension with a club option for 2024. The 32-year-old catcher immediately rewarded Atlanta for its show of faith, crushing a second-inning pitch from Keegan Akin (0-8) for a 2-0 lead.
“I told him after the game, dude you’re worth every penny,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “The job he did with Max, too.”
D’Arnaud was delighted to be on the receiving end of Fried’s masterful throws, and he relished the homer that made a wonderful day even more special.
“It blew my mind a little bit,” d’Arnaud said. “It put us up 2-0, and that’s all we needed. It was a real fun day.”
It was his second homer in five games since coming off a 2 1/2-month stay on the injured list with a sprained left thumb. He also had an infield hit and drew a walk.
Soler made it 3-0 with a solo shot in the third, and Fried made the advantage stand up. The 27-year-old left-hander is 4-0 with a 0.67 ERA in August.
Fried struck out four batters, walked none and permitted only one runner past first base. His previous longest outing since debuting for the Braves in 2017 was seven innings, accomplished six times, and his lone complete game was a six-inning stint against the Cincinnati Reds in 2019.
“I had no intention of taking him out,” Snitker said. “Just watching him throw and the stuff, I was going to let him run with it.”
Trey Mancini had two hits for Baltimore, and Ryan Mountcastle extended his career-best hitting streak to 12 games with a first-inning single. But Fried was too good.
“He had the ability to throw strikes with every pitch he had tonight,” Orioles outfielder Austin Hays said. “He was just pitching ahead and forcing us to have to move the bat. He didn’t walk anybody and they didn’t make any errors. It was a fine combination for them.”
The Orioles, who haven’t won since Aug. 2, remain in hunt of their second victory this month.
“There’s no music in the clubhouse. Everybody’s just mad because we’re losing games,” Hays said.
Now in his third season as Orioles general manager, Mike Elias said before the game that the rebuilding process is on course despite the team’s miserable record.
“We knew this was going to be tough and take a while, (but) we’re very much on track with what we’re trying to do,” he said. “I hoped that we would be able to avoid the kind of stretches of play that we’re in right now, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t know it was a possibility.”
Atlanta’s scheduled starter for Saturday night’s game is veteran left-hander Drew Smyly (8-3, 4.50 ERA), who is 6-0 in 13 starts since May 26. The Orioles will counter with Matt Harvey (6-12, 6.25), who held his opposition scoreless in three successive starts after the MLB All-Star break but is 0-2 with a 6.59 ERA in three starts since then.