While the Atlanta Braves failed to close out the World Series at home with Sunday’s Game 5 loss, they head to Houston with their top (healthy) pitchers — Max Fried and Ian Anderson — ready to go on normal rest. And all eyes will be on Fried for Tuesday’s Game 6, particularly after his rough outings in the NLCS and World Series Game 2.
But one former Braves player thinks he and the team both spotted the problem: Fried was tipping his pitches.
No matter the level of baseball, teams are always looking for a tell from the opposing pitchers. After all — as the Astros know all too well — it makes baseball a whole lot easier when you have an idea of what pitch is coming. This isn’t sign-stealing, though. It’s a mechanical mistake from the pitcher, and even the slightest deviation from a pitcher’s normal mechanics can be enough to tip off an offense.
During Game 2, former Braves player Matt Diaz noticed that Fried was slightly wiggling his glove from the stretch before throwing an off-speed pitch.