SAN FRANCISCO — Logan Webb's underwhelming pitching kept the Braves from overcoming a first-inning blunder by Max Fried, but as long as Jorge Soler returns soon, Thursday afternoon's 6-0 loss to the Giants at Oracle Park might just be a bump in the road for an Atlanta team that's finally heading in the right direction.
Michael Harris II was activated from the 60-day disabled list on Wednesday, and optimism is that Soler could return to the lineup for this weekend's series against the Angels. The veteran outfielder left Wednesday night's win with a tight left hamstring, but an MRI performed Thursday diagnosed it as a mild sprain.
“I'm feeling pretty good right now,” Soler said through a translator. “I'm not going to play (Friday), but I don't know if I'll play (Saturday or Sunday).”
So, does that mean there's a chance?
“Everybody's different,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Something milder will linger. Hamstrings and obliques can be evaluated. But everybody's different. Everybody heals differently. It literally changes from day to day.”
“Every day changes” is good news, at least for now. Soler is hitting .355 with four homers and a 1.280 OPS over his last nine games. Losing him so soon after Harris' return would be another brutal twist to this season.
“I feel better,” Soler said. “I woke up in pain yesterday. I don't know how I'm going to wake up tomorrow. But I'm (grateful) for the good news.”
Good health news has been rare for the Braves, but All-Star Reinaldo Lopez is due to return from the disabled list to start against the Phillies early next week, and Fried has steadily regained control in his three starts since returning from the disabled list, despite giving up two runs in the second inning Thursday.
Chris Sale, Lopez and Fried represented the Braves in the All-Star Game, but the following week will be the first time they'll be in the rotation together, which is good news for a team that has won three of four games in San Francisco after blowing a six-run lead in the eighth inning on Sunday at Coors Field.
In fact, the Braves have the option to start Sale, Lopez and Fried in next week's home series against the first-place Phillies. Atlanta is 11-15 since the All-Star break but is 6 1/2 games behind Philadelphia in the National League East.
Next week's matchup will have a major impact on the Braves' quest for a seventh straight NL East title.
The Braves hounded Giants starter Robbie Ray in the first inning on Wednesday but had no similar answer for Webb, who allowed three hits but no runs in 7 2/3 innings. Webb has allowed two runs or fewer in six of his eight starts against Atlanta.
Fried missed the first two weeks of the second half of the season because of nerve problems in his left elbow. The left-hander returned on Aug. 4 and walked five batters in just 3 1/3 innings against the Marlins. On Saturday at Coors Field, he allowed seven hits and walked three more in five innings, but struck out nine and retired the last seven batters he faced.
Fried improved even more against the Giants, allowing three runs in 5 1/3 innings. One of Fried's runs came on the first of two home runs he allowed in the sixth inning, hit by Jesse Chavez. Braves starters faced no more than four batters in four of the five innings, but faced eight batters before getting three outs in the second inning.
Gerard Encarnacion, Mike Yastrzemski and Casey Schmidt all singled to start the inning. Grant McRae bunted with one out, but the ball dropped in front of Fried, but catcher Travis d'Arnaud dropped the ball, allowing the first run of the game to score. Tyler Fitzgerald then hit a sacrifice fly.
“Right now it's just a matter of getting the job done,” Fried said. “Every time we go out there, we're trying to win that game, so unfortunately, I just didn't play sharp enough and I didn't perform as well as I should have in that position today.”
Still, the Braves are in a better position than they were when they left Denver this week.
“We were probably at our lowest point of the year and then we won three in a row,” Snitker said. “I think that's a good thing. You don't want to lose any games at this time of year. Every game is important.”
The same goes for injury updates.
