Braves’ Max Fried scratched due to potential COVID exposure

<p>NORTH PORT. Fla. &mdash; 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.</p>
<p>Braves manager Brian Snitker said Thursday that Fried hasn’t tested positive for the virus, ut the team is taking no chances.</p>
<p>The left-hander had been scheduled to start Friday against the Minnesota Twins. </p>
<p>"We’re laying him low for a couple of days,” Snitker said.</p>
<p>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.</p>
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<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
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