Orioles attack Max Fried early, shut out Braves, 4-0

Austin Hays and Anthony Santander celebrate after scoring in the second inning.These days, it’s in very bad taste for the Orioles to play the “underdog card,” even against the 2021 World Champion Atlanta Braves. Especially because the ’24 Braves, as is well known, have lost huge pieces of their team: twenty-game winner Spencer Strider, plus last year’s NL MVP Ronald Acuña in late May, among others.

But still, can we admit that tonight’s starter matchup—a two-time Top 5 Cy Young finisher in Atlanta’s Max Fried versus Albert Suárez, a 34-year-old journeyman who went six years and 204 days between MLB starts—felt lopsided in the Braves’ favor, yes?

Well, if you just shut your eyes and ignore the…