Fried’s Early Exit Latest Braves Injury in Trying Season That Ends With Playoff Sweep

Members to the Atlanta Braves watch from the dugout during the ninth inning in Game 2 of an NL Wild Card Series baseball game against the San Diego Padres in San Diego on Oct. 2, 2024. Gregory Bull/AP Photo

SAN DIEGO—The Braves’ best pitcher, NL Cy Young Award favorite Chris Sale, was back home in Atlanta with a back injury.

Max Fried, who started his career as a San Diego Padres farmhand and won the clinching game in the 2021 World Series for the Braves, was in the trainer’s room by the third inning.