Freddie Freeman thought Max Fried was headed for a big season.
Looks like a solid prediction so far.
Fried pitched six effective innings to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 7-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.
“I told you guys in spring training. I love the guy. That left arm, those kinds of special talents don’t come around,” Freeman said. “He’s been off to a great start. Pitching like that here in Coors Field, it’s a big job and I thought he did fantastic.”
Dansby Swanson and Ronald Acuña Jr. homered for Atlanta. The Braves have won five of their last seven games in Denver after dropping 11 straight at Coors Field.
Fried (2-0) took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday and carried that momentum into the matchup with Colorado. The left-hander allowed an unearned run and five hits.
“In the bullpen I noticed all my pitches were breaking about the same as they normally did so I wanted to go out there with the same approach,” Fried said. “Attack them, try to get ahead, throw some curveballs, some sliders and some changeups and keep them off balance.”
In four games, two starts, Fried has yet to allow an earned run in 13 2/3 innings.
“He was really solid, very aggressive,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “Good, solid outing by him.”
Colorado has dropped its first five home games. It has lost nine of 10 overall since winning the first two games of the season.
German Márquez (1-1) has been the Rockies’ best starter so far, and he was rewarded with a new contract Saturday that runs through the 2023 season. He entered with a 0.69 ERA but allowed more runs in the fourth inning (four) than he had in his first two starts combined.
“I made a couple of bad pitches,” Márquez said. “I won’t have a carryover to my next start.”
Acuña went deep on the first pitch of the second. Freeman singled in Josh Donaldson in the fourth before Swanson hit a drive to center for a three-run homer.
Acuña also homered during Monday’s 8-6 victory over the Rockies.
Ian Desmond hit an RBI single in the fourth for Colorado.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Braves: RHP Mike Foltynewicz (bone spur) could return to the rotation this weekend. Foltynewicz pitched 3 2/3 innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Gwinnett. “We will test him again tomorrow and make a decision,” Snitker said. “He could start in five games.”
Rockies: OF David Dahl was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left-side core injury. He got hurt in his first at-bat Sunday night against the Dodgers. OF Yonathan Daza was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque and made his major league debut in right field.
MILE HIGH MEMORY
Tuesday marked the 26th anniversary of Colorado’s first home game. The Rockies beat the Montreal Expos 11-4 that afternoon, with Eric Young homering in the first in front of a crowd of 80,227.
Young, whose son, Eric Young Jr., also played for the Rockies, is now the first base coach for the Braves.
UP NEXT
Braves: RHP Kevin Gausman (1-0, 0.00) allowed just two hits over seven innings in his first start of the season against Miami.
Rockies: RHP Jeff Hoffman will be recalled to make his first start of the season in place of LHP Tyler Anderson (left knee inflammation).
IN THE MAJORS TUESDAY
–The Boston Red Sox blanketed Fenway Park with pieces of the city’s championship past to welcome the newest members of their World Series title club. It wasn’t enough to ward off another setback for a team yet to resemble the one that hoisted the trophy last year. Chris Sale let a Toronto runner steal home, Mookie Betts fanned with two on for the final out and the Red Sox stumbled again, losing to the Blue Jays 7-5 Tuesday in their home opener. After getting their World Series rings that had 185 diamonds, rubies and sapphires during a ceremony that included the Super Bowl champ New England Patriots, the Red Sox fell to 3-9 and are now last place in the AL East.
— Jose Altuve hit his 100th homer and George Springer’s two-run double in the eighth inning helped the Houston Astros to their third straight comeback win, 6-3 over the New York Yankees. Houston has won five in a row overall to improve to 7-5.
— The Seattle Mariners defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-3 to improve to 11-2, baseball’s best record. They homered in their 13th straight game. KC’s Whit Merrifield extended his hitting streak to 30 games, tying George Brett’s club record.
— Yadier Molina drove in three runs, Paul Goldschmidt homered and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0.
— Juan Soto hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning and the Washington Nationals rallied from a five-run deficit to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 10-6. Bryce Harper crushed a three-run homer off former teammate Stephen Strasburg, but Victor Robles tied it at 6 on a solo shot with two outs and two strikes in the ninth.
— Jurickson Profar got four hits, including a homer, and drove in a career-high five runs, leading Brett Anderson and the Oakland Athletics over the Baltimore Orioles 13-2. The win ended a four-game losing streak. Slumping Orioles slugger Chris Davis didn’t play, a day after he set the major league record for the longest hitless streak — 0 for 49 — by a position player.
— Jacob deGrom’s record-tying streak of quality starts ended at 26 when he allowed two home runs to Mitch Garver and one to Eddie Rosario in a 14-7 drubbing by the Minnesota Twins. It was the worst outing in two years for the New York Mets ace.
— Matt Kemp started Cincinnati’s spree of three consecutive homers, Luis Castillo dominated again, and the Reds snapped their eight-game losing streak, beating the Miami Marlins 14-0.
— Two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber has his first win of the young season, as the Cleveland Indians topped the Detroit Tigers 8-2. Four Indians had their first homers of 2019. The Tigers saw a five-game win streak come to an end, as Jordan Zimmermann lost his first decision of the season.
— Austin Meadows homered and set a career high with four hits, Avisail Garcia connected against his former team and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Chicago White Sox 10-5. The Rays pounded Ervin Santana and improved to 9-3.
— Jarrod Dyson hit a pinch-hit two-run home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, sending the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-4 win over the Texas Rangers Tuesday night. Dyson, off the bench to hit for catcher John Ryan Murphy with Eduardo Escobar on second base, ripped a 2-2 pitch from Rangers closer Jose Leclerc into the seats in right field. Arizona (6-5) rallied from a 4-0 deficit after two innings for their third win in four games.
— Kevin Pillar drove in four runs for the second straight game, Evan Longoria broke out of a long slump with an RBI single and the San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres 7-2. Derek Holland (1-1) pitched seven crisp innings and allowed five hits with two walks and a season-best nine strikeouts.
— Tommy La Stella homered twice and drove in four runs, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Milwaukee Brewers 11-8 on Tuesday after Mike Trout departed with a groin injury. Andrelton Simmons collected three hits as Los Angeles extended its win streak to five games. Jonathan Lucroy had two hits and three RBIs against his first major league team.