Lineup, how to watch the Atlanta Braves and Max Fried's return against the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field

(in the voice of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson)

FINALLY, Max Fried HAS. COME. BACK. to the Braves.

As expected, Atlanta has reactivated their lefty ace from the injured list after he spent almost three months rehabbing a strained left forearm. Atlanta's rotation has picked up the slack in the absence of both Fried and fellow starter Kyle Wright, with Spencer Strider and company leading the Braves to an MLB-best 69-37 record. (A MLB-leading 5.9 runs of support per game doesn't hurt that win/loss record).

But Atlanta stayed quiet at the trade deadline, making only some minor bullpen moves, because they knew Fried would be back this weekend. Let's hope he's ready to go against a Chicago Cubs team that's been pretty good recently, reeling off an eight-game win streak to cement themselves as buyers instead of sellers at the deadline. With a lineup led by a rejuvenated Cody Bellinger and offseason signing Dansby Swanson, they're fresh off a series victory against the Cincinnati Reds where they scored a whopping 41 runs in the three game set.

Lineup for the Atlanta Braves on Friday, August 4th

Here's how the Braves will line up for the contest:

5️⃣4️⃣ back on the mound. #ForTheA pic.twitter.com/26lLtleTMb
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 4, 2023

Atlanta's going with the usual suspects in this one, with Sean Murphy behind the plate, batting 5th, and DH Marcell Ozuna (6th) and LF Eddie Rosario (7th) behind him.

Pitching Matchup for the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs on Friday, August 4th

As we mentioned above, Max Fried is the starter for Atlanta today. He's officially 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA in his five starts this season. He's struck out 25 in 26 innings on the season. He's faced the Cubs four times in his career, with a perfect 4-0 record and a 1.57 ERA, allowing only eleven hits and four runs in 23 career innings. He's been victimized by some of the Cubs' key contributors from this season, though, with Cody Bellinger (5-13, 1 HR, 4 RBIs), Yan Gomes (3-7, 1 HR, 3 RBIs), and Ian Happ (3-4, 2 HRs, 2 RBIs) all taking him deep. And, obviously, he's never faced Dansby Swanson, who knows pretty well what Max's arsenal and sequencing looks like.

Opposing the Braves is Kyle Hendricks. 4-5 with a 3.49 ERA in his 13 starts this season, he's struck out only 48 batters in his 77.1 innings but has a 46.6% groundball rate and a career-low 31.9% hard hit rate, holding opposing batters to only a .237 batting average against. He's 1-4 with a 6.81 ERA in eight career appearances against the Braves (seven starts), with 12 homeruns allowed in his 35.2 innings against Atlanta. Ronald Acuña Jr, Michael Harris II, Austin Riley, Travis d'Arnaud (2) and Marcell Ozuna (3) have all taken him deep in their careers.

How to Watch the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs on Friday, August 4th

The Cubs have a tradition of playing a significantly higher than average number of day games due to neighborhood restrictions in their area of Chicago, and this entire series follows that trend. First pitch today is at 2:20 PM ET from Wrigley Field. The game broadcast, with Voice of the Braves Brandon Gaudin, is available inside Braves Country on Bally Sports Southeast and is available on MLB.TV outside of the broadcast area. The radio call, with Ben Ingram, is available locally on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.

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