Max Fried threw three-hit ball over 8 2/3 innings, guiding the Atlanta Braves to a 3-0 win against the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.
Despite the loss, the Royals celebrated their first postseason spot since 2015 after the Minnesota Twins lost to the Baltimore Orioles 7-2, leading to a lively celebration in their visiting clubhouse at Truist Park.
“We’re just so proud of everyone,” said Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. “This is just the beginning of something special.”
The Braves also had a successful night, now holding a National League wild-card position after the Mets and Diamondbacks both lost.
Sean Murphy hit a two-run homer for the Braves, and Marcell Ozuna scored after a throwing error following his first stolen base since 2022.
The Braves and Mets are scheduled for a doubleheader on Monday in Atlanta, making up for two games that were canceled due to heavy rain from Hurricane Helene.
“This is a big game, obviously. Every game counts,” Fried said. “Knowing that this potentially could be the last game that I pitched this season, I just wanted to do everything I could to leave everything out there and try to win.”
The Royals came into the game needing just one win to secure their playoff spot, but they held off their celebration until after the game in Minneapolis concluded.
Fried (11-10) almost had a shutout, handing the ball to Raisel Iglesias with two Royals on base. Iglesias closed the game by retiring Salvador Perez for his 33rd save.
It was Fried’s first career start against the Royals.
“We knew it was (going to be) tough, watching him and seeing him over the years,” said Royals manager Matt Quatraro. “He’s got multiple pitches that are plus pitches. He uses them all. He very rarely falls into any sort of patterns. … That was masterful pitching.”
Fried threw 98 pitches, with 63 of them being strikes. He walked two batters and struck out nine.
“You know exactly what you need to do,” Fried said. “We had to win this game and I just left everything out there.”
