Max Fried will make his first career Opening Day start Thursday when the Atlanta Braves open the 2021 regular season on the road in Philadelphia. The game is the first of three against the Phillies and will kick off a six-game road trip to begin the season for Atlanta.
Fried is looking to build off of a strong 2020 season where he stepped up as the rest of Atlanta’s rotation was lost to either injury or underperformance. He came up big posting a 2.25 ERA (2.81 xERA) in 56 innings spanning 11 starts. Fried is the first left-handed pitcher for the Braves to start on Opening Day since Tom Glavine in 2002.