Padres chase Max Fried out of the game early, Southpaw’s potential final Braves start

SAN DIEGO – Max Fried’s Houdini performance failed the second time.

In what may have been his final start for the Atlanta Braves, Fried was ejected after two innings with the Braves facing elimination.

The Braves left-hander, who grabbed an early lead in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series, escaped a bases-loaded no-out jam – a bizarre frame in which no ball left the infield – in the first inning Taking out Manny Machado and getting Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts to put the ball on the floor.

In the next inning, the San Diego Padres took advantage of a second chance. First, Kyle Higashioka hit a home run to tie the game, becoming the first Padres catcher with multiple home runs in a single postseason. Then came three consecutive singles, two of them in the infield. Machado didn’t miss again. He hit a first-pitch double to left field, scoring two runs, and Merrill followed with a two-run triple over the head of center fielder Michael Harris II.

Five runs, all with two outs.

Fried finished the inning but was replaced by left-hander Dylan Lee in the third inning with the Braves trailing 5-1. Fried allowed eight hits while recording just six outs.

It may have been Fried’s last start for the Braves, the team with which he won a World Series title in 2001. Fried is a free agent this offseason. In parts of eight seasons in Atlanta, Fried posted a 73-36 record with a 3.07 ERA and a 1.164 WHIP, with Cy Young finishes in the top five twice.

This story will be updated.

(Photo: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)