<img alt="Atlanta Braves v Los Angeles Dodgers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xg3l5yYeRzrv2eIwvdTyTdoYly0=/0x0:3113x2075/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73589622/2151751404.0.jpg">
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
After a crappy ending last night, the Braves still have a chance to earn a series win on Monday Things didn’t quite turn out how the Braves wanted them to on Sunday night, giving the Braves their fifth Sunday Night Baseball loss in five such games so far this season. But, now it’s Monday, and as this weird wraparound series draws to a close, the Braves still have a chance to secure a series win. For that to happen, Max Fried will need to do what his rotation-mates have already done in this series, and the bats will need to get some semblance of luck and/or just deserts against Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Let’s start with Fried: the veteran left-hander set to face his hometown team for a second time this season is having a pretty generic Max Fried season. His pitching line (ERA-/FIP-/xFIP-) is 83/88/83 (compared to a career line of 72/80/80), and though things are a little elevated (each mark is its highest since somewhere in the 2018-2020 range), he’s been more than fine and has 2.7 fWAR through 153 2⁄3 innings so far. Fried missed most of July with arm troubles, but has been more or less the same guy, albeit unfortunate in the run-charging department: 104/86/80 in eight starts since returning, compared to 74/89/85 in the 18 starts prior.
Despite the deadened ball, Fried’s been slightly more homer-prone than in years past, and one of his three multiple-homers-allowed games earlier this season came at Dodger Stadium, where Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernandez both tagged him for two-run shots in a 5-1 loss. That said, Fried has largely dominated Los Angeles in the regular season (3.17 FIP, sparkling 2.59 xFIP in nine games spanning 50 2⁄3 innings), though his postseason record against them is a lot more mixed (two good starts, two bad starts, some meh relief appearances). So long as he can avoid one of his occasional blow-ups and the BABIP monster, he can probably cruise, but neither of those things are a guarantee.
On the flip side, the Braves will get their first look at Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has been really really good for the Dodgers, despite missing about three months with an arm injury over the summer. Yamamoto largely dominated everyone in every start he didn’t depart with some kind of ailment (59/64/69 in a span of 12 straight starts), and then picked up right where he left off across four innings against the Cubs last Tuesday (8/0 K/BB ratio, and a negative xFIP for his efforts). So, weird BABIP stuff aiding them aside, the Braves will probably need Fried to stifle the Dodger bats once again, because this zombified lineup will likely struggle against Yamamoto’s not-quite-Chris-Sale-but-still-kinda-video-game-y numbers.
The Braves currently exist in a tie with the Mets for the last NL playoff spot, but with the Mets playing the Nationals tonight, it’s dicey to assume they’ll still be in said tie if they lose tonight.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Monday, September 16, 7:20 p.m. ET
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
TV: Bally Sports Southeast, MLB Network (out-of-market only)
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM
<img alt="Atlanta Braves v Los Angeles Dodgers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xg3l5yYeRzrv2eIwvdTyTdoYly0=/0x0:3113x2075/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73589622/2151751404.0.jpg">
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
After a crappy ending last night, the Braves still have a chance to earn a series win on Monday Things didn’t quite turn out how the Braves wanted them to on Sunday night, giving the Braves their fifth Sunday Night Baseball loss in five such games so far this season. But, now it’s Monday, and as this weird wraparound series draws to a close, the Braves still have a chance to secure a series win. For that to happen, Max Fried will need to do what his rotation-mates have already done in this series, and the bats will need to get some semblance of luck and/or just deserts against Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Let’s start with Fried: the veteran left-hander set to face his hometown team for a second time this season is having a pretty generic Max Fried season. His pitching line (ERA-/FIP-/xFIP-) is 83/88/83 (compared to a career line of 72/80/80), and though things are a little elevated (each mark is its highest since somewhere in the 2018-2020 range), he’s been more than fine and has 2.7 fWAR through 153 2⁄3 innings so far. Fried missed most of July with arm troubles, but has been more or less the same guy, albeit unfortunate in the run-charging department: 104/86/80 in eight starts since returning, compared to 74/89/85 in the 18 starts prior.
Despite the deadened ball, Fried’s been slightly more homer-prone than in years past, and one of his three multiple-homers-allowed games earlier this season came at Dodger Stadium, where Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernandez both tagged him for two-run shots in a 5-1 loss. That said, Fried has largely dominated Los Angeles in the regular season (3.17 FIP, sparkling 2.59 xFIP in nine games spanning 50 2⁄3 innings), though his postseason record against them is a lot more mixed (two good starts, two bad starts, some meh relief appearances). So long as he can avoid one of his occasional blow-ups and the BABIP monster, he can probably cruise, but neither of those things are a guarantee.
On the flip side, the Braves will get their first look at Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has been really really good for the Dodgers, despite missing about three months with an arm injury over the summer. Yamamoto largely dominated everyone in every start he didn’t depart with some kind of ailment (59/64/69 in a span of 12 straight starts), and then picked up right where he left off across four innings against the Cubs last Tuesday (8/0 K/BB ratio, and a negative xFIP for his efforts). So, weird BABIP stuff aiding them aside, the Braves will probably need Fried to stifle the Dodger bats once again, because this zombified lineup will likely struggle against Yamamoto’s not-quite-Chris-Sale-but-still-kinda-video-game-y numbers.
The Braves currently exist in a tie with the Mets for the last NL playoff spot, but with the Mets playing the Nationals tonight, it’s dicey to assume they’ll still be in said tie if they lose tonight.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Monday, September 16, 7:20 p.m. ET
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
TV: Bally Sports Southeast, MLB Network (out-of-market only)
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM
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