Atlanta Braves News: Max Fried is coming off two really bad starts to begin the season. The Braves are coming off of a 16-4 loss to the Mets. It was time for Fried to regain his form and help the Braves stop the bleeding. That’s just what Max Fried did tonight.

Max was efficient, getting through 6.1 innings on 84 pitches. Fried left in the seventh inning with a shutout in tact but Pierce Johnson allowed one of Fried’s baserunners to score. His final line on the night was 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 4 Ks. He left the Braves with a 7-1 lead.

Fried had 11 swings and misses in his 84 pitches compared to Marlins’ starter Trevor Rogers‘ nine hard-hit balls on 80 pitches. Fried gave up just four hard-hit balls. Fried wanted to avoid the first-inning woes he has faced this year so he came out firing his curveball and never looked back. He pitched to contact and as we pointed out earlier, he limited hard contact to a minimum. It was vintage Max Fried.

Fried did what aces do in these situations. Many people might have over-reacted to Fried’s two bad starts to begin the season, but that’s normal. We always overreact to small sample sizes in the beginning of the season.

This start has to calm the indigestion of Braves’ fans everywhere. With Spencer Strider on the shelf, Atlanta needs Max Fried to be the ace he’s been the past few years. They really need him to anchor the rotation. This start was a confidence booster for fans, for the team, and for Fried.

Let it be known, we had full confidence in Max Fried today in our picks. If the Braves finish this victory off, we’ll be 13-0 in our picks on the season!

Next Start: Fried is currently lined up to face the Astros in Houston on April 17th. The Astros are off to a rough start at 4-10.