'I just hate it for Max': Braves walked off after Fried's stellar start

SEATTLE -- It didn’t take long for thoughts of a no-no to be replaced with the frustration that followed the "oh no" pitch that doomed the Braves in their 2-1 loss to the Mariners on Monday night at T-Mobile Park.

“One bad pitch can lose you the game,” Braves reliever A.J. Minter said. “You hate it, but that’s what happens.”

With closer Raisel Iglesias unavailable to pitch a third straight day, Minter was assigned to protect a one-run lead in the ninth inning. The veteran lefty surrendered a leadoff single and then missed the strike zone with each of his first three pitches to Mitch Garver. He battled back to 3-2 and then watched Garver line a cutter over the left-center wall.

The Mariners hit just two balls out of the infield through the first eight innings. But none of that mattered once Garver’s homer soared over former Mariners teammate Jarred Kelenic’s head.

Minter entered this outing having not allowed a run over his past nine outings (8 2/3 innings).

“You could tell I didn’t have my A-plus stuff today,” Minter said. “But at the same time, you’ve got to figure a way to get it done and I couldn’t. I just hate it for Max. He pitched an unbelievable game.”

Max Fried and Mariners starter Bryce Miller both carried no-hit bids through six innings. Ronald Acu?a Jr.’s infield single to begin the seventh inning accounted for the game’s first hit. Ozzie Albies followed with an RBI double to right-center field, and it looked like that might be all Atlanta would need to win for the 12th time in its last 14 games.

But this went from being a potentially celebratory ending to a rather deflating one. Josh Rojas’ infield single off Joe Jiménez in the eighth inning ended the Braves’ bid for their first no-hitter since Kent Mercker threw one against the Dodgers on April 8, 1994. One inning later, Garver made things worse.

Matt Olson had a 110.5 mph groundout in the fifth, and Michael Harris had a 108.6 mph groundout just after Orlando Arcia’s 104.1 mph groundout in the eighth. But Kelenic’s ninth-inning single was only the Braves’ third hit of the night.

“It was a really good ballgame,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We couldn’t get a big hit or get anything going.”

Miller recorded 10 strikeouts while limiting the Braves to two hits and a run over seven innings. The Braves whiffed with 15 of 35 swings against the 25-year-old hurler’s four-seam fastball.

His effort was matched by Fried, who recorded seven strikeouts and pitched around a pair of walks while throwing 100 pitches over six scoreless innings. This was the Braves left-hander’s first outing since April 23, when he needed just 92 pitches to throw a three-hit shutout against the Marlins.

“He’s getting in a really good place and getting his rhythm back again,” Snitker said. “It’s been really good.”

Fried started this season with a pair of horrendous first innings. He allowed three runs over just two-thirds of an inning on March 30 in Philadelphia and then surrendered six more runs in the first inning of his April 6 start against the D-backs.

His season ERA is 4.02. But if you just account for everything beyond the first inning of the Arizona start, he has a 1.51 ERA over his past 29 2/3 innings.

“I feel like I’ve got a really good feel and understanding of where I’m at,” Fried said. “I’m just trying to keep it as simple as possible, which is to attack guys, get some ground balls and keep us in games.”

Mitch Haniger’s fourth-inning flyout to Acu?a accounted for the only ball the Mariners hit out of the infield against Fried, who primarily used his fastball, curveball and changeup. The sweeper he used during his first two starts has been thrown just twice over his past two starts.

Fried pleaded to remain in the game beyond the sixth but understood Snitker’s decision to lift him.

“He was like, ‘You’re throwing the ball well and you’re feeling good,’” Fried said. “‘It’s still April, keep the big picture in mind.’ But definitely, I wanted to go back out there, but I understand and respect Snit’s decision.”