The Braves entered their 4-game series with the Mets this week in desperate need of at least a 3-1 series win to keep their division hopes realistic. Max Fried delivered that exact outcome Thursday night, pitching toe-to-toe against the best pitcher on the planet, Jake deGrom, coming out on top 3-2 in the final game of easily the biggest series of the season.
The game went exactly now you would think a Max Fried-Jake deGrom game would go, with every run worth its weight in gold, and every scoring chance a precious commodity. For the first two innings, both pitchers looked vintage, with Fried getting 6 out in the first 6 batters and deGrom getting 6 outs in the first 7 batters.