Max Fried was so good that he didn’t even need all the support Nick Markakis and the Braves provided for his first win of the season.

Markakis hit a grand slam http://www.thelionsfootballauthentic.com/jahlani-tavai-jersey-authentic , Fried took a shutout into the seventh inning and Atlanta beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-4 on Saturday night.

”You’ve got to give all the credit to Max,” Markakis said. ”He went out and pitched one of the better games I’ve seen. For him, two runs early on was enough for him. It was nice to get some runs and give him a nice cushion there.”

The Braves have won the first two games of the three-game set. The Cardinals have dropped three in a row.

Fried (1-2) stymied the Cardinals on 101 pitches before being pulled with two outs in the seventh. Recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to start the game, he struck out 11, allowed four singles and walked three.

”My curveball was definitely on tonight,” said Fried, who also recorded his first major league hit with a single in the fifth. ”I was able to throw it for strikes, put it in the dirt when I wanted to. The big thing for me was getting the fastball over. I felt like I was able to get strike one pretty good. That was my main goal.”

Luke Weaver (4-7) went 4 2/3 innings, giving up 10 runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out five. He gave up homers to Markakis in his final inning and a two-run shot to Ronald Acuna Jr. in the second.

”At the end of the day, I was just done on a couple big swings,” Weaver said. ”I thought I threw some pitches in good spots, but it’s got to be executed a little bit better and you’ve just got to flush these types of days.”

The Braves sent 11 players to the plate in the six-run fifth. After Ozzie Albies doubled in Fried, the Cardinals intentionally walked Freddie Freeman to face Markakis. The right fielder hit his ninth homer of the season and fourth career grand slam off a 3-2 pitch.

”To be honest with you, I was just looking to hit something into the outfield and get a run in, and I ended up one of the better at-bats in the season T.J. Hockenson Jersey ,” Markakis said. ”I looked back at the video and (the pitch) wasn’t exactly where he wanted it, but he threw it somewhere close to the zone and I put a good swing on it.”

He added a sacrifice fly in the sixth to bring in Albies, finishing with five RBI on the day.

Albies went 3 for 5 and has a 10-game hit streak, batting .467 (21 for 47) during that span.

The Cardinals scored all of their runs in the ninth off Matt Wisler, including a leadoff home run from Jose Martinez.

LONGEVITY

Cardinals C Yadier Molina played in his 1,800th game, joining Hall of Famers Stan Musial, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith and Enos Slaughter as Cardinals to play in at least that many. Molina entered the majors in 2004 and has spent his entire career with St. Louis. He ranks 12th among active players in games played.

MOVES

To make room for Fried, the Braves designated OF Peter Bourjos for assignment. Bourjos, in his first year with the Braves, was batting .205 in 36 games. He also played for St. Louis in 2014 and 2015.

TRAINING ROOM

Braves: RHP Arodys Vizcaino (shoulder inflammation) is expected to come off the 10-day DL on Monday. The Braves closer threw a side session Saturday and is on target for his return to the team. … C Tyler Flowers, who left Friday’s game with a right hamstring cramp after flying out to end the sixth inning, didn’t start Saturday. The Braves said it was part of the regular rotation between Flowers and C Kurt Suzuki. The two have alternated starts for the past 16 games.

Cardinals: RHP Luke Gregerson (right shoulder impingement) is scheduled to begin a rehab stint at Triple A Memphis on Sunday. He has yet to appear with the minor league club since going on the 10-day DL on May 16.

UP NEXT

Braves: RHP Mike Foltynewicz (5-4, 2.14) goes for his first win in a month. After tossing a 4-0 shutout against the Washington Nationals on June 1, he went 0-1 in his final three starts of the month. He failed to get past the fifth in any his final three June outings.

Cardinals: RHP John Gant (2-2 http://www.thebroncosfootballauthentic.com/dre_mont-jones-jersey-authentic , 3.48) is coming off his best start of the season, giving up one hit over seven innings as St. Louis beat the Cleveland Indians 4-0 on Monday. This is his first appearance against his former club since a 2016 trade that saw the Cardinals send starting pitcher Jaime Garcia to the Braves in exchange for three minor leaguers, including Gant.

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Duron Harmon thought it was time to speak up.

It was about a half-hour after the Patriots’ 33-30 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 1. As his teammates walked around in a daze following their second loss in four games, Harmon didn’t hold back when asked what was wrong with a defense that already had given up 30 or more points three times.

”Obviously, what we’re doing is not good enough, so we need to go take a look in the mirror and just look and realize: Are we doing enough to win?” he said that night.

Both the words and the sentiment had a familiar ring to them.

That’s because it was Harmon who issued a similar challenge to his team during halftime of last year’s Super Bowl against Atlanta. It’s a pep talk his teammates credited with helping them complete their 25-point comeback.

Since signing a four-year, $17 million contract this past offseason, the defensive captain has become an even more vocal presence in the Patriots’ locker room and was one of their most consistent players down the stretch.

He led the team with four interceptions, including one in the end zone in the waning seconds of New England’s 27-24 win at Pittsburgh that would help it secure home-field advantage in the postseason.

The 27-year-old says he still feels like a ”young player” but that he has felt more at ease speaking his mind as he heads to his third Super Bowl, where the Patriots will face the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday.

Part of the reason is because he thinks he’s playing alongside a defensive unit that is just as tough mentally as the one that showed up when it had to against Atlanta. He also doesn’t have to worry about hurting anyone’s feelings in a locker room where the demand for excellence is so high.

”Just a group of fighters,” Harmon said. ”I mean you just look at the way the year progressed – started the year not the way we wanted to, came out and lost the opener, got to 2-2, but nobody in here really listened to the noise. We ignored it. We did everything we can to get better and try to progress throughout the year and that’s the reason why we’re here right now, just because we continued to fight.”

Patriots safety Devin McCourty said Harmon’s preparation is noticeable to his teammates and gives him credibility when he chooses to speak out. It also has allowed the coaching staff to trust him late in games.

”The situation doesn’t affect him. The pressure doesn’t bother him,” McCourty said. ”Since he was a young guy in here http://www.cardinalscheapstore.com/byron-murphy-jersey-cheap , if he was thrown in there at the end of the game he was ready to go, and I thought he’s always done a good job of taking advantage of opportunities.”

It’s also kept Harmon on the field.

He appeared in all 16 regular-season games for the fourth straight season. Though often used in nickel situations as the third safety, including in the playoffs, Harmon has been on the field for 60 percent or more of the Patriots’ defensive snaps 11 times this season.

Having him out there is never a bad thing, coach Bill Belichick said.

”Whether he’s 60 percent or 80 percent, whatever it is, 70 percent, whatever it ends up being – we want him on the field. He does a good job for us,” Belichick said.

Harmon said playing in place that puts such a premium on accountability is what drew him in from the beginning.

”If you love winning it’s not hard,” he said. ”I mean this is what this place is about – winning. Everything we do, everything we sacrifice for is for to win. Coming here as a young guy five years ago, I just see how competitive this place was and I just wanted to be a part of it so I did everything in my power to continue to get better and try to make sure that at the end of training camp I’m always on this roster.”

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