ATLANTA — Max Fried and Merrill Kelly were at the forefront of the Braves and Diamondbacks’ Sunday matinee. Both starters pitched seven scoreless innings, resulting in a low-scoring affair that ended with a walk-off from a player who’s the hottest in baseball right now.
First baseman Matt Olson reached with one out in the ninth against former Braves closer Mark Melancon. Third baseman Austin Riley, on a tear, set the franchise record for extra base hits in a month with a walk-off double. The Braves won, 1-0.
Fried entered Sunday with a 2.38 ERA over his past 10 starts, though he had a 4.15 ERA in his two starts since the All-Star break (six earned runs over 13 innings). Fried was at his best Sunday, stifling an Arizona offense that produced four runs over three games this weekend.
The All-Star left-hander tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out five. A day after Ian Anderson retired the first 14 Diamondbacks, Fried retired the first 13 before Jake McCarthy singled in the fifth (McCarthy also earned the first hit off Anderson Saturday).
Fried twice ran into adversity. The Diamondbacks opened the sixth with a walk and single. Fried’s response: a strikeout, a liner to left and a pop out to the pitcher from Ketel Marte, Arizona’s best player.
The Diamondbacks again made Fried work in the seventh, leading manager Brian Snitker to visit the mound. Snitker kept Fried in the game, and he rewarded his manager’s faith by retiring Jordan Luplow with a quiet pop out to second baseman Orlando Arcia.
Sunday marked the fourth time Fried has logged seven innings in his past eight starts. He hasn’t just been the Braves’ ace. He’s been their workhorse, reliably covering bulk innings for them and lessening the burden on the bullpen.
The Braves mustered three hits off Kelly. They went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and struck out eight times. Kelly is one of baseball’s more underrated frontline starters, lowering his ERA to 2.87 over 21 starts.
Riley’s 26 extra-base hits this month passed Hall of Famer Hank Aaron for the most during one month in Braves history (Aaron had 25 extra-base hits in July 1961).
The Braves are off Monday before beginning a two-game series against the Phillies Tuesday at Truist Park. But all eyes center on Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline, which occurs around 80 minutes before Braves-Phillies first pitch.
