Fried, Riley power Braves past Phils; magic number down to 1

ATLANTA (AP) — Max Fried pitched seven strong innings, Austin Riley drove in three runs, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-2 on Wednesday night to move within one victory of a fourth straight NL East title.

The Braves have won nine of 11 and reduced their magic number to one. Philadelphia, which dropped 4 1/2 games back in the standings with its third straight loss, can be eliminated from postseason contention with one loss or one Atlanta win. The teams conclude their series on Thursday; each has three games left after that.

Fried (14-7) improved to 7-0 with a 1.46 ERA over his last 11 starts, and the Braves are 10-1 in those games. The lefty allowed two runs — one earned — and four hits with no walks and six strikeouts.

Aaron Nola (9-9) gave up three runs and seven hits in six innings. He has a 6.00 ERA in six starts this month.

Bryce Harper, a leading candidate to win his second NL MVP award, and cleanup hitter J.T. Realmuto are a combined 0 for 15 in the series. Harper, who snapped a 23-game on-base streak, is 0 for 7 with five strikeouts. He struck out three times against Fried.

Atlanta led 3-1 when Ozzie Albies singled to begin the third inning and scored from first on Eddie Rosario’s two-out double.

Riley made it 5-2 in the seventh with a two-run double off Héctor Neris down the left-field line. Dansby Swanson followed with a two-run single up the middle off Sam Coonrod for a 7-2 lead.

Ronald Torreyes' RBI single in the second inning ended a streak of 17 2/3 scoreless innings for Fried. Odúbel Herrera had two doubles to the Phillies.

SIZZLING FRIED

Fried, who won his seventh straight decision, pitched a three-hitter last Friday at San Diego and tossed seven scoreless innings to win 3-0 on Sept. 19 at San Francisco. The lefty had gone 0-1...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Fried-Riley-power-Braves-past-Phils-magic-16498060.php