Braves Slam Cardinals 11-4 Behind Nick Markakis And Max Fried – 6/30/18 – Game Thread!

Braves Slam Cardinals 11-4 Behind Nick Markakis And Max Fried!

Once again on a hot and humid Saturday Night in St. Louis The Atlanta Braves slam Cardinals 11-4 behind Nick Markakis and Max Fried!

This game was not a pitchers duel as it was on Friday Night.  This game belonged to Max Fried from the start of the game!  He had two strikeouts to start out with in the first inning.

The only trouble Fried ran into was two runners on in the second inning.  Then he had one runner on in the third but that runner was erased on a double play that Tommy Pham hit into.  In the fourth inning Fried walked Yadier Molina but was left stranded at first.  Then in the sixth inning Fried gave up a single and a walk but got out of the inning when Jose Martinez grounded in a double play.  Then in the seventh inning he struck out the first two hitters but walked Harrison Bader and manager Brian Snitker brought in Matt Wisler to relieve Max Fried.

Max Fried went 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowed only four hits, three walks and had eleven strikeouts.  He threw 101 pitches of which 63 were strikes.

His command of the strike zone, just his fastball command, his stuff was really good!  He was throwing a lot of strikes, and that was probably the biggest thing.  It was probably as good as I’ve seen him go up here.  –Manager Brian Snitker

My curveball was definitely on tonight.  I was able to throw it for strikes, put it in the dirt when I wanted to.  But the biggest thing for me was getting the fastball over.  It felt like I was able to get strike one pretty good.  That was my main goal, to get ahead and stay ahead.  –Pitcher Max Fried 

Braves Slam Cardinals 11-4 Behind Nick Markakis And Max Fried!

The Braves offense started in the top of the second inning.  Nick Markakis led off the inning with a double to left field.  Then Ronald Acuña Jr. hit his sixth homerun over the center field wall giving the Braves a 2-0 lead.

Then in the fifth inning the Braves blew the game right open by scoring six runs.  Max Fried collected his first major league hit.  Ender Inciarte singled to left field then Ozzie Albies doubled to right field to score Fried.  Braves now lead 3-0.  The Cardinals decided to intentionally walk Freddie Freeman to load the bases.  Then you guessed it Nick Markakis hits a grand slam homerun over the right field wall scoring four runners.  This homerun was Markakis ninth of the year.  Braves now blow it open to take a 7-0 lead.  Then Acuña Jr. doubled to left field and Johan Camargo walked.  Dansby Swanson singled on a line drive to right field to score Acuña Jr. to give the Braves a 8-0 lead.

In the sixth inning Inciarte doubled to left field.  Albies singled to center field to score Inciarte to give the Braves a 9-0 lead.  Then Markakis hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Albies and now the braves have a 10-0 lead.

Braves Slam Cardinals 11-4 Behind Nick Markakis And Max Fried!

In the ninth inning Acuña Jr. singled to center field and advances to third base on an error by the center fielder.  Then Camargo hits a sacrifice fly to center field to score Acuña Jr.  The Braves take a 11-0 lead to the bottom of the 9th inning.

For the St. Louis Cardinals their only offense came in the bottom of the ninth inning.  Jose Martinez hit his 13th homerun off of Matt Wisler.  Jedd Gyorko hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Dexter Flower.  Then Harrison Bader doubled to left field to score Franciso Peña.  Then Yairo Munoz doubled to left field to score Bader.  Then Kolton Wong lined out to 1st basemen Ryan Flaherty for the final out of the game.  The Atlanta Braves win 11-4.

With this win the record for the Atlanta Braves is 47-34.  The St. Louis Cardinals drop to 42-39!

Braves Slam Cardinals 11-4 Behind Nick Markakis And Max Fried!

I was really impressed with the performance of Max Fried on the mound tonight!  His fastball stayed in the 90 – 95 mph range.  Fried’s curveball was really impressive and it was in the 72 – 77 mph range.  He also was able to get his first major league hit.  Great Game!

Nick Markakis was the offense star of the game.  This game should put an exclamation point on Markakis resume for being voted in to start in the all-star game on July 17th in Washington!  Markakis went 2 for 5 with a grand slam and five runs batted in.  Superb Game!

The only negative part of the game was the performance of Matt Wisler in the bottom of the ninth inning.  For 1 2/3 innings he game up five hits including one homerun and four runs scored.  Just be thankful that the Braves had a big lead.  Sam Freeman came in to relieve Wisler and did a good job to finish the game!

All in all a great game as the Braves slam the Cardinals 11-4!

—Bob Griggs  Atlanta Dugout Talk

W: Fried (1-2)     L:  Weaver (4-7)

Umpires:  HP Chris Segal | 1B Gabe Morales | 2B Ed Hickox | 3B Jerry Meals

This game was played at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO.

Atlanta Braves vs St. Louis Cardinals Starting Line-Ups Listed Below:

According To  Mark Polishuk:

The Braves have designated outfielder Peter Bourjos for assignment, the team announced on Twitter.  In a corresponding move, southpaw Max Fried has been called up from Triple-A to start tonight’s game against the Cardinals.

This is the third time Fried has been promoted to the MLB roster this season, and the left-hander has contributed a 4.09 ERA and 13 strikeouts (plus a troubling seven walks) over 11 innings of work.  He has yet to receive an extended look at the big league level either this year or after making his Major League debut in 2017, though Fried could get more of an opportunity now that Brandon McCarthy and Mike Soroka are both on the disabled list.  Fried was ranked as a top-100 prospect by Baseball America (which had him 72nd) and MLB.com (83rd) prior to the season.

Braves Designate Peter Bourjos For Assignment https://t.co/pU1zHXZLep

— Tim Dierkes (@mlbtrbraves) June 30, 2018

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