Max Fried Pulled From Braves' Opener in 4th Inning

 

Opening Day has already had its ups and downs for the Atlanta Braves. The good: getting off to a 4-1 lead on the Washington Nationals. The bad: starter Max Fried has had to leave the game in the 4th inning with what's so far being called "left hamstring discomfort."

Max Fried left the game after appearing to injure himself covering first base pic.twitter.com/06NioKIHM6

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 30, 2023

It appeared to happen while he was running to cover first base; he can be seen reaching for the back of his left leg after making the play. He got a visit from a trainer, threw a couple of pitches and was promptly removed from the game. 

It doesn't seem like anything serious at this point; it's not an elbow or a shoulder thing, so nothing overly concerning. But nevertheless, not the way you want things to go for your ace on Opening Day. 

The Braves already have Kyle Wright on the 15-day IL to start the season, and Michael Soroka also wasn't ready to join the rotation this spring. 

We'll have to wait on any further medical tests to see how Fried is doing going forward. In the meantime, the rotation will be handed over to last year's rookie sensation Spencer Strider and grizzled veteran Charlie Morton over the next two games, and then the new kids on the block come in—Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd. 

Wright isn't expected to be out for long; they can only hope that's the case with Fried as well.

 Photo: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports