Friday was an emotional day at Truist Park as Freddie Freeman made his return to Atlanta as a member of the enemy Los Angeles Dodgers, but once the celebration of the longtime Braves 1B came to an end, it wasn’t a Hollywood ending for the home team as LA took game one of the series 4-1.
Freeman’s raw emotion during both his pregame press conference and the on-field ceremony as he received his World Series ring somewhat overshadowed the game itself, but with all of that in the rear-view mirror, Chris Goforth says it’s time for the Braves to shift their focus back to the diamond.
“It’s done, it’s over with. It was nice, now let’s start winning some games again. That was great. You’ve got to put it all behind you if you the Braves, and now you’ve got to move forward. You’ve got to get back to the business of baseball and winning baseball games," Goforth said on 92.9 The Game.
The Braves didn't play winning baseball Friday, especially at the plate as all six Braves hits came from just three players—Dansby Swanson, Ronald Acuña and Matt Olson. On the mound, Ian Anderson went just 4.0 innings and allowed four runs and walked four Dodger batters. Goforth went on to say that today is a new day and the Braves have the right guy on the hill as they look to take control of the series.
“I know it was emotional for Freddie. It was also very emotional for those guys in the Braves clubhouse to see that guy back here I’m sure, but now, you’ve got to move on. Now, you’ve got your best pitcher in Max Fried on the mound today. You’ve got to get back to it because the Mets aren’t sitting around going ‘poor Braves’ and the Marlins aren’t going to do us any favors by beating the Mets,” Goforth said.
The Mets beat Miami last night to extend their NL East lead back to five games.
Goforth credits the Braves for their turnaround early in the season but added that winning this series over one of the top teams in the National League would be a huge step further in the right direction.
First pitch in game two of the three-game set is scheduled for 7:15 tonight.
