In Max Fried’s final tune-up of spring, the Braves sent out what seems likely to be their regular lineup against Kutter Crawford and the Red Sox.
The first inning didn’t hold much, as Ronald Acuna singled but Ozzie grounded into a double play and Austin struck out. Max was not particularly sharp, as he loaded the bases on a walk and two singles, but avoided giving up any runs. The Braves offense got cooking in the second, as a Matt Olson walk, a Michael Harris single, and a majestic Sean Murphy homer scored three runs.
Max allowed another single but nothing else in the second. Ronald led off the third with another single and Austin hit a double, but no Braves scored. Fried allowed two walks and two singles in the third before ending his final inning of spring with two runs allowed. Fried was not particularly sharp today, walking three and struggling to miss bats, striking out only one. He did avoid allowing any homers, however.
Harris and Murphy combined to score two more for Atlanta, with a Harris double that just barely missed being a homer and another absolute bomb of a Murphy homer.
Kelenic singled with one out in the inning, but was unable to come around to score. Aaron Bummer got the fourth and allowed a single and a walk before getting a double play. Bummer was struck with a comebacker and threw a few warmup pitches for the trainers before staying in the game. A wild pitch brought a Boston run home before a single and a flyout ended the inning for Bummer, who has had an up and down spring. A Riley walk was the only baserunner in the fifth for Atlanta, but Pierce Johnson allowed another run on a walk and two singles to make it a 5-4 Atlanta lead.
Kelenic nearly hit a homer but was a few feet short in a hitless sixth for Atlanta’s offense. Dylan Dodd got the sixth and had an impressive 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts. The Braves’ bench started coming in and could not manage any baserunners in the seventh against Kenley Jansen. Dodd got the seventh as well and allowed a run on a walk and two singled, but avoided anything more. Former Brave Chris Martin hit Justin Dean but otherwise worked a clean top of the eighth. Dodd got the eighth and ninth after the Braves’ depth pieces failed to score in the ninth and walked one with two strikeouts across those innings. It was a really strong 4.0 inning appearance for Dodd, as the teams tied 5-5.
Join us tomorrow for the penultimate spring training game at 1:05 PM ET against the Twins.
