After five abysmal starts to begin the season, Mike Minor watched the ball clear the center-field wall for a home run in the first inning Friday and he momentarily dropped his head to stare at the ground.
It looked like a “here we go again” moment.
Except it wasn’t. Minor refused to let it turn out that way on a humid 96-degree evening. He bounced back from Austin Riley’s two-run homer and completed six innings. He didn’t give up another run.
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It was an improvement for Minor, the first time he’s permitted fewer than three runs in a start, but it wasn’t enough to match Atlanta’s Max Fried in a 9-1 loss at Great American Ball Park.