Hey, what’s up? Aren’t the MLB playoffs supposed to be unpredictable? If you watched the Braves’ 2024 season come to an end on Wednesday night in San Diego, that might feel like a tough sell right now, as the Braves have once again lost a crucial playoff game by muddling through a starting pitcher and enforcing the game were practically out of reach. After Charlie Morton gave up a three-run home run in 2022 and Bryce Elder did the same in 2023, this time it was Max Fried’s turn to suffer the now familiar Womp, womp that runs accumulate on his ledger. True to form, the bullpen ended up throwing six essentially stress-free innings, but that didn’t matter as the Braves’ comeback was narrow.

To say that this game was a Max Fried disaster, well – that would be it largely unfair. After the Braves took an ABC Baseball lead (double, groundout, sac fly) against Joe Musgrove early in the first, Fried had the most shutdown inning of all time. We’re talking:

• Weak infield bouncer single
• Liner from Fried, leading to an injury visit and a warmup play that ended with a single
• Comebacker with a 69 mph bouncer that didn’t result in an out because Fried’s throw to second came too late
• Crossed out
• 66 mph roller results in a forceout at home
• A hard-hit grounder results in a power attack to second

However, after two outs to start the second, the game went sideways as Fried was still able to get weak contact this time but couldn’t escape the sin of not just hitting guys for a second straight inning. To be clear: it wasn’t Only the infield singles, as after the first two outs Kyle Higashioka hit a home run off Fried to tie the game and Luiz Arraez had a solid single up the middle. But then it was definitely time for more infield singles. With the go-ahead run on base, there was an 83 mph bouncer infield single to third. Then there was another 83 mph bouncer infield single, this time to second.

Would you have pulled Fried right there, with the bases loaded, the game tied and no platoon advantage against Manny Machado? He had given up the home run, but he hadn’t accompanied anyone. To you and the Braves and whoever wants to analyze this after the fact, rest assured: You have the whole offseason ahead of you. It may be irrelevant, because of course the Braves didn’t want it: that they would die the way they lived all season (and seasons past) might as well have been set in stone at this point or prophesied by a girl named Cassandra . Machado hit a two-run double, and then Jackson Merrill hit a triple. The Braves were down 5-1; At this point, Fried had given up as many reaches-on-infield singles as he had made outs, which also happened to be the number of runs charged to his account in what could have been his final game as a Brave.

After that, as expected, the bullpen shut down the Padres all the way. Dylan Lee got five outs. Daysbel Hernandez got seven. Pierce Johnson and Joe Jimenez each pitched one inning. Is this what the Braves have been saving the bullpen for all season? That’s probably not what they planned, but that – and the fact that Jimenez and Raisel Iglesias played both games in a doubleheader – is all they really deserve for their stingy behavior. The bullpen had a K/BB ratio of 4/2 in relief of Fried; Fried finished the game with a K/BB ratio of 2/0 and the home run.

You might be surprised that the Braves somehow made a game out of it. Musgrove was perfect after the first round, but had to leave in the fourth round due to injury. Bryan Hoeing struck out the final hit of the inning, but was greeted by a huge home run to deep center from Jorge Soler in the fifth.

In the sixth, the Braves scored twice off Jeremiah Estrada, and the Padres traded to Tanner Scott to face Matt Olson. Olson hit a 102.5 low liner the other way, but because A) it wasn’t an infield single or B) it was a down-the-middle fastball, Olson for some reason hit it from the inside Batting outside, he ended up being hit left fielder.

In the eighth, Michael Harris II hit a two-run home run off a (surprising?) single by Orlando Arcia off Jason Adam to pull the Braves within one point. But the next three batters couldn’t get anything off Adam. And in the ninth, when Robert Suarez reached triple figures and was changing 92 mph, Soler almost made things really interesting… but he drilled a knee-high, 100 mph sinker 371 feet from center, resulting in an out. After that there was nothing left; Ramon Laureano hit a 68 mph rebound that didn’t convert into a score, and pinch-hitter Travis d’Arnaud made it on the first pitch to seal the season.

I’m sure there will be a temptation to draw conclusions from this game because, well, there won’t be any more Braves games for a long time. But what can you really say? The Braves outscored the Padres but didn’t really dominate hard contact in this game. Most of the time they just haven’t strung together a few singles unlike their opponents, but that’s really been the story of a string of disappointing losses this season, what’s another? Max Fried was once again punished for not really doing anything wrong, with an incredible 22.50 ERA, 7.67 FIP and 2.68 xFIP (50 percent HR/FB) in this game. I appreciate that the Braves recognized that there probably wouldn’t be another game and retired him after the two frames because there wasn’t really anything left to lose at that point, but in the end they didn’t really brought something different than another game in which the bullpen erected a monument of zeros in a loss.

Either way, the Braves are now tasked with figuring out what they need to change and what they don’t need to change before they make the playoffs for an eighth straight season next year. For my money, figuring out what’s going on with the ball is probably the biggest priority, to the extent that that’s even possible, but it also seems like a good thing to focus on avoiding another straight season where they save the bullpen for free.

See you in the spring (or sooner, but that’s up to you)!