The Atlanta Braves will try to clinch their sixth straight series win Saturday when they continue their series against the Baltimore Orioles. The Braves won the opener 3-0 behind a complete game shutout from Max Fried.
After a strong stretch in the middle of the season, Drew Smyly has struggled somewhat of late. He’s only managed four innings in four of his last five starts and has a 4.50 ERA over that stretch. While this isn’t awful, the inability to provide innings or actual good run-prevention is not ideal. The Orioles, despite being awful, have had pretty decent success against left-handed pitching (Fried’s Maddux last night notwithstanding) this season, so this isn’t really much of a reprieve for Smyly.