NL DIVISION SERIES: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

October 7, 2023

Max Fried

Truist Park

Atlanta Braves

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. Max, what was the most encouraging thing that you drew from Tuesday's appearance or those five innings you threw?

MAX FRIED: That I was able to go out there, throw, you know, get up five times, keep my arm going and just made some guys feel like I was in some kind of competitive environment and coming out healthy. I mean, just coming out feeling good and ready to go, I think that was the most important thing.

Q. Are you tired of talking about the blister though? Was it wearing on you?

MAX FRIED: It's kind of been a narrative that I've had throughout my career in the Big Leagues, something that I've had to monitor and just kind of deal with and battle through. So it's part of it.

Q. Max, Snit just told us that unfortunately Kyle is going to have to be shut down for all of 2024. What do you say to him as a friend and teammate to battle through something like that?

MAX FRIED: To be honest, that's news to me. So I don't know too much about the details, but I know that I rehabbed a lot with Kyle throughout this year. We spent a lot of time together. He worked extremely hard to try to come back and battle, and I know he wanted to be a part of this run and into this playoffs and that's what he set his goals out to be.

So just to hear that he's not going to be with us throughout the playoffs, it's really, you know, disheartening, just for him. You know, he's put in so much work, and he's grinded. So to hear that, you know, you feel for him, but I know that he's one of the hardest workers that I've seen. He's going to do everything that he can to make sure that he gets back to form and be able to compete and have success here for a long time.

Q. Max, will the cooler, kind of dryer weather help or hinder the blister? It seems like in the past it's kind of helped it, but I'm not certain.

MAX FRIED: Yeah. I think anytime, for me personally, when it's not as hot and humid, my skin doesn't get as sweaty and soft and be able to kind of rip.

So definitely, the cooler environment definitely helps. But it's one of those things where it just kind of pops up. It wasn't all that hot in Washington when it happened last.

So something that like kind of every start that I've had in the Big Leagues, just something you gotta monitor and just kind of pitch through, do the best you can to be the same and just make pitches realistically.

Q. Snitker was saying the other night you can barely even see the blister anymore?

MAX FRIED: Yeah.

Q. How much has it improved over these two weeks and by wearing that band aid, did it look any different after Tuesday's outing than it did before?

MAX FRIED: It's, I mean, right now as far as visuals and the way it feels, it just feels like my finger is healed and back to normal.

As far as the band aid, it's just more been a precaution of the times that I have thrown and being able to have that kind of friction on the ball, just to kind of protect it and give it as much time for the skin to heal as possible.

So we've just been leaning on the more cautious side, realizing that this is kind of what we're waiting for, and for me to be as healthy as possible going into the playoffs.

Q. Max, after opening of the playoffs last year against Philadelphia and not feeling particularly well, can you reflect on how fortunate you must feel to be relatively healthy now?

MAX FRIED: Yeah. I mean, obviously not the most ideal situations coming in, not all the way healthy, missing some time going into the playoffs, but physically, my body and the way that I'm feeling this year versus last year is night and day different.

So I'm feeling really good. I feel strong. Obviously don't have too many innings on my arm this year. So I'm just getting excited to get back out there and kind of just leave it all out there and kind of just go to battle with my guys.

Q. I'm curious, have people like offered you their home remedies about trying to fix your blister and things like that?

MAX FRIED: I've gotten a few different ones. Maybe a couple that I probably shouldn't say here. Laughs. But, yeah, no, we've kind of just been throwing everything we can at it, from home remedies, something just as much as like pickle juice to some of the medical equipment that we have.

So it's just more of everybody's body reacts differently, and you just have to try to find what works for each individual.

Q. Okay, Max. Blisters aside, everything aside, you're facing a team that you've seen a lot, and they mean something very different at this time of the year.

What changes as far as a mindset, as far as an approach? How do you go into it?

MAX FRIED: You just have to -- that's a good one, because obviously there are no secrets. I think I've faced this Phillies team just about more than anyone in my career. They know what I have. I know what they have. There's no secrets. It's just toeing the rubber and executing and throwing the pitches that I need to and just whoever executes the best that day.

And I know that they're not going to give me anything. They're extremely disciplined. They're great hitters, and they play well, and they play good baseball, especially when it matters most and they need to win.

When they need to shorten up and go the other way, they do that. If they need to go for a long ball, they're able to do that. They're extremely versatile, and you know you have to bring your A game to be able to navigate through that kind of lineup and give your team a chance to win.