Max Fried, ladies and gentlemen
Yeah, we remember the Braves’ other SoCal superstar.
And if we didn’t, Max Fried wanted to offer a sterling reminder.
After former-Braves-turned-Dodgers star Freddie Freeman stole Game 1 of this NLCS reunion with a passionate pregame speech and a first at-bat homer in L.A.’s win Monday, Fried took the ball Tuesday and took over.
And he silenced the Dodgers like Clarice did with the lambs when she capped Buffalo Bill. (Spoiler alert.)
Fried was filthy, which is one of those modern-day words that is the highest of praise for a pitcher but the opposite in terms of hygiene.
Fried’s line against a Dodgers line-up that has three former MVPs, two former batting champs and the Wildiling that befriended Jon Snow was eye-popping.
He pitched seven scoreless innings, fanning eight and allowing two singles and no walks. It was as efficient as it was excellent, and maybe more importantly, it was the expected effort from the pitcher every Johnny Braves Fan from Tifton to Tunnel Hill knows must be a bona fide ace.
And Tuesday night, Max Fried was every bit of that.
Villains