Left-hander Max Fried recorded his third straight scoreless outing and Matt Olson hit a three-run homer to help the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 4-0 on Friday in a game that was shortened to five innings by rain.
Fried (2-0) allowed three hits and one walk with a season-high seven strikeouts. He has surrendered only one run in 20 innings and lowered his ERA to 0.45.
The Braves broke open a scoreless game with four runs in the fifth inning. Eddie Rosario singled and took third on Kevin Pillar’s double. Michael Harris II hit a grounder to third and Rosario was thrown out at the plate. But Ronald Acuna Jr. hit the first pitch he saw from David Peterson into right field for an RBI single.
Matt Olson then launched a 433-foot home run deep into the seats in right-center field. It was his eighth home run and gave him a team-leading 25 RBIs.
Peterson (1-4) pitched five innings and allowed four runs on five hits, one walk and six strikeouts. He dropped to 3-4 in his career against the Braves and saw his ERA go to 7.34 for this season.
The bottom of the fifth inning was played in a steady rain, but was able to be completed, making it an official game.
The Mets had only one runner reach second base. Jeff McNeil walked and stole second base in the second inning with one out, but the Mets failed to push him across.
The game marked the return of Atlanta center fielder Harris, who had missed 19 games because of a strained lower back. Harris went 0-for-2 but scored a run.
The second game of the four-game series is scheduled for Saturday, although heavy rain remains the projected forecast in the New York area.
–Field Level Media
