ATLANTA — Max Fried allowed two more hits in the Atlanta Braves’ 3-1 loss to the San Diego Padres on Friday than he’d allowed in 29 innings over his previous four starts combined. But that seemed insignificant when catcher Travis d’Arnaud left the game with dizziness after being hit in the face mask by a foul ball.
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D’Arnaud, 35, has had four concussions in his career, the most recent coming last season from an April 8 collision at home plate, which put him on the injured list for one month. He passed concussion tests Friday night, manager Brian Snitker said, but the Braves will have him examined again Saturday.
“With his history, you’re always concerned,” Snitker said. “We’ll see what it looks like tomorrow, after he sleeps on it. He came in and was dizzy, so we weren’t going to take another chance.
“He’s got (two) small children and one on the way. This is about him and doing what’s right for the long term, and we’ll take every consideration in doing all that.”
Teammates who spoke with d’Arnaud after the game said he was in good spirits and told them he just had some dizziness and would be OK. The Braves’ training staff advised him not to do postgame interviews because of the lights from TV crews.
First baseman Matt Olson said d’Arnaud’s demeanor was noticeably different than after the game last season when d’Arnaud was concussed.
“Initial reaction and seeing the way he was shaken up last year — I’m no doctor, but (last year’s incident) looked a lot worse,” Olson said. “It could be something that the training staff is just a little sensitive about because they know his past. I saw him for 30 seconds after the game, and he seemed fine.
“Definitely not as kind of ‘in a daze’ as he was looking last year. So, hopefully nothing too serious.”
D’Arnaud was replaced by Chadwick Tromp, who has shared catching duties with d’Arnaud since 2023 All-Star catcher Sean Murphy strained an oblique on Opening Day. Murphy will begin a minor-league rehab assignment in a few days, and if the Braves need another catcher until Murphy is ready, they could bring up veteran Sandy León from Triple-A Gwinnett.
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Soon after d’Arnaud left Friday’s game, León was pulled from Gwinnett’s game in Memphis, presumably in case he’s needed Saturday in Atlanta.
When Tromp was asked about his level of concern over d’Arnaud’s injury, he said: “Not that much. I’ve heard that he took a foul tip off the mask. He was just feeling a little bit dizzy, and I think he’s just day-to-day right now. I talked to him after the game, he was in good spirits. So, hopefully he’s good to go tomorrow.”
Snitker said Tromp will be in the lineup Saturday, and if it’s determined that d’Arnaud is unavailable even in an emergency to back up Tromp in Saturday night’s game, the Braves would make a roster move before.
If d’Arnaud goes on the IL, catching duties would presumably be handled by Tromp with León as his backup until Murphy is activated. León, 35, signed a minor-league contract in the first week of the season and has been at Gwinnett, hitting .213 with three homers, 25 strikeouts and a .697 OPS in 25 games.
“I don’t know too many details, to be honest,” Fried said of the condition of d’Arnaud, whom he said is a “big leader in that clubhouse.”
Fried added: “At this point, you want to make sure he’s OK. His health is the first priority.”
Fried, who had outings with six hitless innings and seven hitless innings in two of his past three starts and needed just 92 pitches to throw a three-hit shutout April 23 versus Miami, allowed nine hits over 4 1/3 innings on a night when the Padres totaled 13, all singles. He gave up three runs and three walks.
Padres knuckleballer Matt Waldron, who entered with a 1-5 record and a 5.49 ERA, had a career-high 10 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings while allowing five hits and one run. Braves hitters had 18 strikeouts and have scored three or fewer runs in seven of their past 12 games and two or fewer in three of their past four games.
Matt Waldron, Wicked 80mph Sweeper. 🤢
10th K pic.twitter.com/XwxsulD2YX
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 18, 2024
Their 86 runs in 24 games over the past 30 days is third fewest in MLB, barely half what the NL East-leading Phillies have scored (169) in three more games during that span. The second-place Braves slipped to 3 1/2 games behind the Phillies.
Austin Riley still sidelined
The Braves still don’t think Austin Riley will need a stint on the 10-day injured list, but the third baseman was out of the lineup again, the fourth game he’s missed since straining a muscle in his left side.
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“He’s better, it’s trending in the right direction,” Snitker said. “We’ll reassess and see where we’re at every day, and if we don’t need to make a (roster) move we’re going to try to keep away from it.”
Snitker said the hope remained that the Braves would get Riley back sooner than he could’ve returned if placed on the IL. But if the injury were to linger, they could backdate an IL stint only three days, meaning he would end up missing more time than if put on the IL in the first few days after the injury.
However, they don’t think that will be relevant because they believe Riley is close to being ready.
Snitker was asked if Zack Short’s impressive performance while filling in for Riley had made it easier to take a conservative approach with Riley.
Zack Short keeps making plays.
Austin Riley leads the dugout support. pic.twitter.com/8z59uH8UdK
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) May 18, 2024
“He’s done a great job,” Snitker said of Short. “I think in this situation, regardless of that, we’re going to be careful. Because if you’re not and (the oblique) goes, it’s two months. In talking to Austin, he said, ‘I’ve played through this before.’ But I’m glad he fessed up and said there was something going on. That’s smart.”
Short was 4-for-10 with a double, two RBIs and two walks in a series against the Chicago Cubs that ended Wednesday and reached base twice in each of his first four games since replacing Riley midway through Sunday’s series finale against the Mets at New York. But Short was 0-for-4 with a walk and three strikeouts Friday on a night when every batter who played for the Braves, including Tromp and Adam Duvall off the bench, struck out at least once.
Pierce Johnson set to return
With 17 games scheduled in a 17-day stretch that began Friday, the Braves decided to wait one more day to activate reliever Pierce Johnson from the 15-day IL.
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They originally had planned to bring the setup man back Friday, the first game in which Johnson was eligible to return since going on the IL with elbow inflammation. But after he threw live batting practice against hitters Wednesday, the final test before being activated, the Braves decided to wait so they could use him right away in consecutive games if needed.
They wouldn’t have wanted to do that for games Friday and Saturday if he’d been activated since that, combined with the Wednesday session, would’ve meant throwing three times in four days after going nearly two weeks without facing hitters. Assuming he’s activated Saturday, Johnson could be used right away in consecutive games.
“Yeah, just one more day because we’re about to go on 17 straight,” Johnson said Friday afternoon. “It might be the last time I get two days off in a row. … But I feel great. There’s no issues.”
No rest till June
Johnson and Joe Jiménez are the top right-handed setup men in a deep bullpen that will get a lot of work during the 2 1/2-week stretch before the Braves’ next scheduled day off June 3. Their 41 games played is the fewest in the majors, six fewer than the Padres and Oakland Athletics have played and five fewer than eight other teams.
Over the next 2 1/2 weeks, the Braves will start to close that gap.
The fewest-games-played thing happened due to two early rainouts that will be made up later in the season, coupled with a scheduling quirk that included five consecutive Thursdays off for the Braves and six Thursdays off in seven weeks.
Since their scheduled season opener on Thursday, March 28, also was postponed one day due to rain in Philadelphia, the Braves have played just once in the first eight Thursdays of the season.
But they will play each of the next four Thursdays, including two in the run of 17 consecutive games, a stretch that Snitker thinks could help his team start to click again offensively. The Braves have had erratic and often lackluster hitting for the past month.
(Photo: John Adams / Icon Sportswire via Associated Press)