Braves Drop Series to San Diego, Ending Their Season
The 2024 campaign for the Atlanta Braves is over.
The Atlanta Braves got in an early hole against the San Diego Padres and rallied but couldn’t climb out, losing game two 5-4 on Wednesday night in San Diego’s Petco Park. The loss officially eliminates the Braves from the 2024 postseason.
Here’s what you need to know about from the contest.
A terrible way to go out for Max Fried
Max Fried’s a free agent this offseason, widely expected to command a contract above Atlanta’s comfort in both years and dollar amount.
(No Braves player under Alex Anthopoulos has received a multiyear deal for more than $22M AAV1 and several Atlanta extensions - Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Spencer Strider, and Chris Sale - all cap at that exact figure.)
If this is the final start for Fried in a Braves uniform, both parties are probably going to regret how it ended: Fried was lifted after only two innings, having allowed five runs on eight hits, striking out just two.
It was a masterful escape for Fried in the first inning - San Diego loaded the bases with no outs, only for Fried to strike out Manny Machado and induce groundouts of both Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts.
But a first-inning comebacker off of the bat of Fernando Tatis Jr. that caught Fried in the hip may have had some lingering effects. The lefty got two quick outs in the second inning prior to giving up a Kyle Higashioka homer…and then the bottom fell out.
After the solo homer put San Diego on the board, the top of the order picked up five consecutive hits and four additional runs off of Fried. It was quite a bit of bad luck for the lefty - of the eight total hits he allowed, four never left the infield - but still a disappointing performance for both him and the Braves.
Fried, visibly frustrated, was lifted for fellow lefty Dylan Lee for the third inning. He finished with just three whiffs in his 45 pitches, putting up only a 24% CSW. Manager Brian Snitker told ESPN’s Buster Olney on the broadcast that the hip was “bothering” Fried in the 2nd inning, prompting the pitching change.
The offense took a while to hit its stride
Michael Harris II opened the game with a leadoff double, advancing to third on a groundout and scoring on a sacrifice fly.
That was Atlanta’s last hit until the 5th inning, a span of twelve batters, when Jorge Soler added a solo homer.
Compounding issues, the Braves didn’t walk in the game until the seventh inning and struck out eight times.
But the Braves rallied late, powered by Michael Harris II. The young centerfielder went 3-4 with a homer, two runs scored, and two RBI in this one. His 8th-inning homer made things dramatic late, cutting the San Diego lead to 5-4, but the Braves couldn’t complete the comeback against closer Robert Suarez.
Again, the bullpen shined
Despite it being “all hands on deck”, the Braves mostly stuck to their medium-leverage arms after Fried left early - Dylan Lee and Daysbel Hernández combined to throw four scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out three.
If there’s anything we’ve learned from this series, it’s that Hernández is a major league reliever and that Lee deserves more higher-leverage opportunities - with AJ Minter heading to free agency, there’s an opportunity for both Lee and Aaron Bummer to seize larger roles next season. This feels like one of the first offseasons in a while2 that the Braves might not need to sign/trade for someone for the bullpen or be active in the reliever market.
What’s next for the Atlanta Braves?
Nothing.
That’s it - the season’s over.
It’s an underwhelming end to a season that was full of hardships. The team will return to Atlanta tonight or tomorrow, gathering at Truist Park for final meetings and to clean out lockers.
Several of the players we saw in this series are free agents, Max Fried most notably among them. We’ll break down all of Atlanta’s free agency and arbitration decisions after we get a day to decompress from this season.
There HAS been a signing over $22M by Alex Anthopoulos: Josh Donaldson signed for $23M on a one-year deal for the 2019 season, giving Atlanta 37 homers and 94 RBI before signing a four-year contract with the Minnesota Twins prior to 2020.
Atlanta re-signed Joe Jiménez and Pierce Johnson last offseason, trading for Bummer to supplement the lefties. The previous offseason was trading for Jiménez and signing Kenley Jansen.
Next year, boys.
Special note to Jackson Merrill’s glove in the ninth; he saved what would have been an easy leadoff double. A runner on second with no outs could have been a whole new game.
A long and grinding season has ended. Can't get to next season soon enough. 24 I will remember you. A bunch of young pitchers are doing really well. Drake has landed. Hayden Harris and Dysabel will be in the atlanta pen next year. It will be a different team with world series or bust thoughts and possibly not saying them outloud so much. Charlie If this is it, I will miss miss miss you. Fried, I hope you can surprise us all and stay. Jared you may end up in AAA for a bit--tough it out--you can make it. Man, ever year will end no matter what. I hate these too soon exits. Ahhhh well, thank you Braves.