PITTSBURGH (AP) — Max Fried allowed only three hits in eight innings, pacing the Atlanta Braves to a 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.
Fried (12-4) struck out seven and walked one, retiring 20 of the final 23 batters he faced, and allowed one run. The All-Star left-hander got through eight innings for the second time this season. He gave up two hits to the Rockies in eight shutout innings on June 3.
“It was a lot of fun,” Fried said. “I feel like I’ve done this enough where at least I feel physically ready in the bullpen, you just kind of go out there and lock it in. Just focus on competing. I might not have been as sharp as I would’ve liked in the bullpen, probably worried a couple people. But that’s where you kind of have to dig deep and say, ‘We just have to attack and compete.’”
Atlanta has taken the first two of the three-game series, and 13 of 15 overall, to move closer to the first-place New York Mets in the NL East.
“When you play a week like we just did and you come on the road, you spend a lot of energy in that week,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “All the games, they all went down to the very end. It’s good. Like last night, we weren’t hitting on all cylinders offensively, but the pitching picked us up. Tonight too. More importantly, Max gave a lot of those bullpen guys that have been used a lot some much-needed rest. It’s good to win these games.”