Max Fried, Braves go for series win against Giants

After getting their road trip of to a good start, the Atlanta Braves will try to extend their winning streak to four-straight and clinch another series win in the process Saturday when they continue a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants. The Braves scored a 5-1 win in Friday’s opener behind another good performance by Spencer Strider. Max Fried will get the start for Atlanta Saturday while the Giants will go with righty Ryan Walker as an opener for a bullpen game.

Fried missed three months of action with a forearm strain and will be making his fifth start since returning from the injured list. His first four outings have been a bit of a mixed bag and he admitted after his last start that he is still trying to round into form. That isn’t surprising given how long he was out and luckily, there is still plenty of time. Fried will be facing the Giants for the second straight time. He allowed a season-high nine hits but was able to limit the damage to just three runs over 5 2/3 innings last week at Truist Park.

The Giants have been essentially operating with just three true starters and have been piecing together the remainder of their rotation. They will go with Walker Saturday as an opener. He has made 10 starts this season, but hasn’t gone more than 2 2/3 innings in any of them. Overall, Walker has appeared in 34 games and has pitched well with a 2.14 ERA and a 3.35 FIP in 46 1/3 innings.

Ozzie Albies traveled with the Braves on the road trip, but wasn’t activated ahead of Friday’s opener. Brian Snitker said Friday that they hope to have Albies back at some point during the trip, but it is unlikely to happen in San Francisco. Nicky Lopez started Friday’s opener at second base.

In addition to Strider’s heroics Friday, Atlanta got a big performance from Michael Harris who had three hits, including his 12th home run of the season. Harris also picked up two stolen bases and scored three of the Braves’ five runs.

Ronald Acuña Jr. tripled in the opener and just missed a two-run home run late. He needs just two homers and two stolen bases to become the first player in major league history with at least 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a season.

Saturday’s game is scheduled to get underway at 4:05 p.m. ET and can be seen on Bally Sports Southeast.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Saturday, August 26, 4:05 p.m. ET

Location: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

TV: Bally Sports Southeast, FS1

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan