HOUSTON — Travis d’Arnaud knew that tonight would be different after the first few pitches that he caught in the bullpen.
He could tell by the fastball. The pitch was working for Braves starter Max Fried in a way that it had not in the bullpen before his last start. The warm-up pitches were zipping into his catcher’s glove with the same lively movement that had bedeviled so many opposing hitters this year. This, d’Arnaud knew, was the same Max Fried whom he had caught through August and September, when the lefty looked like one of the best pitchers in the game.