Braves News: Max Fried named Opening Day starter, Braves suffer walkoff loss, and more

Mar 25, 2023 - 10:00 AM

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To no one’s surprise, the Atlanta Braves officially announced that Max Fried will get the nod for Thursday’s season opener against the Washington Nationals.

Thursday’s matchup will be Fried’s third consecutive Opening Day start. In the 2021 opener, Fried tossed five frames and surrendered two runs on six hits against the Philadelphia Phillies. He struck out eight.

His 2022 Opening Day start was not nearly as successful. He was handed a loss after allowing five runs to the Cincinnati Reds. Despite his underwhelming 2022 debut, Fried recovered and put together possibly the best season of his career thus far. He tossed 185.1 innings and posted a 2.48 ERA.

In each of his three appearances this spring, Fried has looked to be in midseason form. He has picked up three wins and allowed just four hits in 11.1 innings. He has whiffed 14 batsmen.

The state of the Braves starting rotation is still up in the air at this point, with Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd still battling it out for the fifth spot.

More Braves News:

The Atlanta Braves dropped their spring game against the Boston Red Sox, 9-8, in walkoff fashion.

After analyzing righty Jesse Chavez, it appears that he pitches much better in the Braves threads.

Our team-by-team season preview series continues with the 2023 Atlanta Braves.

Braves Podcasts:

Lang Whitaker joins the Daily Hammer Podcast to preview the 2023 Braves and review the offseason.

Episode 34 of PTBNL discusses the latest shortstop decision, the Iglesias injury, and more.

MLB News:

The St. Louis Cardinals signed righty Miles Mikolas to a two-year contract extension. The deal comes with a guaranteed $40M.

Kansas City Royals pitcher Daniel Lynch will likely begin the season on the injured list due to a shoulder strain. He will be evaluated again in 7-10 days.

Former Brave Charlie Culberson was released by the Tampa Bay Rays and is now a free agent.