Fried lasted two innings in a no-decision Wednesday in Atlanta's 7-6 win over Washington in the first game of a doubleheader. He gave up five runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out three.

EDGE Analysis

Fried struggled out of the gate in his second start of the season, giving up four runs in the first inning while the Nationals batted around the order. He allowed three more hits and a run before escaping the second inning, with one of the outs coming on a line drive that caromed off Fried's lower right leg over to third baseman Austin Riley, who tagged out Trea Turner. Fried remained in the game to face two more hitters in the inning, but manager Brian Snitker elected not to send out the struggling southpaw for the third. According to David O'Brien of The Athletic, Snitker said after the game that Fried was fine and was lifted early mainly as a precaution, so the 27-year-old should be ready to pitch when his next turn comes up Monday versus the Marlins.

Fried allowed two earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out eight across five innings Thursday against the Phillies. He did not factor into the decision.

EDGE Analysis

Fried allowed seven baserunners and both of his earned runs in the first three innings, particularly struggling with his control. However, he turned it on from there, punching out four hitters across his final two frames while keeping the basepaths much cleaner. His encouraging performance was backed by 19 swinging strikes on 94 total pitches. Fried currently lines up to make his second start of the season Tuesday at Washington.

Fried was named Atlanta's Opening Day starter Thursday and will get the nod April 1 against Aaron Nola and the Phillies.

EDGE Analysis

Fried could be pushed for the role by a healthy Mike Soroka (Achilles) or Ian Anderson in the future, but he's the obvious choice this season coming off a year in which he cruised to a 2.25 ERA. Fried's xFIP (4.05) and SIERA (4.32) tell a very different story about his 2020 season, however, as it took a .268 BABIP, an 82.0 percent strand rate and a 4.9 percent HR/FB rate to get him to that excellent ERA -- all of which should all regress a fair amount this season. If he slides toward those ERA estimators this season, he'll be more of a mid-rotation starter than an ace, but he'll still be a useful arm for Atlanta.

Fried struck out three and didn't walk a batter over four innings Wednesday against the Red Sox in his first game action of the spring, Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

EDGE Analysis

The southpaw tossed 51 pitches and was in attack mode from the jump, throwing first-pitch strikes to 12 of the 15 batters he faced. "For me, my first couple spring-training starts, I'm normally trying to shy away from contact and trying to miss bats," Fried said afterwards. "Today, I wanted to attack hitters early, get some early contact and get the guys working behind me." He remains a candidate, and perhaps the favorite, to get the Opening Day assignment for Atlanta.

Fried will make his first start of the spring Wednesday against the Red Sox, Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

EDGE Analysis

Potential exposure to someone with COVID-19 forced him into the league's protocols for a few days, delaying his prep for the regular season, but Fried got cleared over the weekend and is ready for his first Grapefruit League action. The 27-year-old will still be able to make four spring starts, giving him enough time to ramp up before Opening Day.

Fried (not injury related) was cleared to return to camp Saturday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Fried was away from the team for several days after a "potential exposure" to somebody infected with COVID-19. However, he tested negative several times and will now be able to rejoin the team for workouts. The southpaw will likely complete at least one side session prior to making his spring debut, but he's expected to be ready for Opening Day.

Braves manager Brian Snitker said that Fried won't make his scheduled start in Friday's Grapefruit League game with the Twins due to COVID-19-related concerns, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

According to Snitker, Fried didn't test positive for COVID-19, but the Braves fear he had "potential exposure" to an infected person. Fried is expected to remain away from camp for at least a couple of days, but if he continues to test negative while in quarantine, he could return to the team facility at some point next week. Assuming that ends up being the case, Fried's availability for the start of the regular season shouldn't be in any jeopardy.

Fried signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Braves on Friday to avoid arbitration, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

The left-hander received a sizable figure in his first year of arbitration eligibility after posting a 2.25 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 50:10 K:BB over 56 innings last season. Fried is poised to open the 2021 campaign as Atlanta's ace.

Fried took the loss in Game 6 of the NLCS against the Dodgers on Saturday, giving up three runs on eight hits while striking out five and walking four over 6.2 innings of work.

EDGE Analysis

All the damage the Dodgers managed to do in the game was done in the first inning, as Fried allowed five straight batters to reach base, giving up back-to-back solo homers to Corey Seager and Justin Turner as well as an RBI single to Cody Bellinger. Neither Fried nor the relievers who followed him allowed any more runs the rest of the way, but that one rally was all the Dodgers would need in their 3-1 win. Fried's ERA now sits at 3.04 through four starts this postseason.

Fried allowed just one run in six innings in Game 1 of the NLCS against the Dodgers on Monday, striking out nine while walking two and allowing six hits. He did not factor into the decision.

EDGE Analysis

Fried bounced back from an unimpressive NLDS outing against the Marlins with a gem against the Dodgers. The lefty allowed a pair of baserunners in each of the first two innings but settled down from there, allowing just a total of two more over his last four frames. One of those was a solo homer to Enrique Hernandez, which kept Fried from earning a win, but the outing on the whole was quite a strong one. He lines up to pitch Game 6 if necessary.