Braves' Max Fried scratched due to potential COVID exposure

NORTH PORT. Fla. (AP) — Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried won’t make his first scheduled start of spring training because of a potential exposure to someone with COVID-19.

Braves manager Brian Snitker said Thursday that Fried hasn’t tested positive for the virus, ut the team is taking no chances.

The left-hander had been scheduled to start Friday against the Minnesota Twins.

"We’re laying him low for a couple of days,” Snitker said.

Fried, a 17-game winner in 2019, went 7-0 with a 2.25 ERA last season and finished fifth in the NL Cy Young Award balloting.

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Bryce Wilson picked up where he left off in last year’s NL Championship Series, throwing two scoreless innings in a 6-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday.

Wilson gave up a leadoff single in the first, then retired the next six hitters with two strikeouts. He is contending for a spot in the rotation after last year’s dazzling playoff performance, when he allowed just one hit and one run in six innings to beat Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers.

The victory gave the Braves a 3-1 lead in the series, but Los Angeles won the final three games to advance to the World Series.

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