Minus Ozzie Albies, Braves bid to sweep Astros

Even following a bad break, Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies remained jovial.

Albies landed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday after tests revealed he fractured his right big toe on a hit by a pitch in the second inning of the series opener against the Houston Astros the previous day.

Albies remained in that game and finished 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. It wasn't until after the game when Albies removed his cleats that he realized something was amiss.

Without Albies, the visiting Braves will attempt to complete a three-game sweep of the Astros on Wednesday afternoon.

Albies said he fouled a couple of pitches off the same foot over the weekend in Miami, and he said the pain from the broken foot he sustained two seasons ago was far worse. Albies logged only 64 games in 2022 but rebounded to play 148 last season, when he recorded career highs in home runs (33) and RBIs (109).

"It's a freak injury, but there's nothing I can do about it," said Albies, who aims to return when the pain is manageable. "Make sure I heal fast and be ready to go as soon as I feel better."

The Braves selected veteran David Fletcher to replace Albies on the active roster.

Left-hander Max Fried (1-0, 8.74 ERA) is scheduled to start the series finale for Atlanta on Wednesday. He recorded a quality start in his last outing, limiting the Miami Marlins to one run on four hits and one walk with four strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings in an 8-1 road victory last Friday. Fried had surrendered 10 earned runs over his previous two starts (five innings).

Fried has faced the Astros once in the regular season, allowing three hits and three walks with five strikeouts over 6 2/3 scoreless innings in the Braves' 5-2 home loss on April 23, 2023. He did not factor into the decision. He pitched against Houston twice in the 2021 World Series, taking the loss in Game 2 before throwing six shutout innings in a 7-0, series-clinching Game 6 victory.

Right-hander J.P. France (0-2, 8.22 ERA) has the starting assignment for Houston on Wednesday. After allowing a combined six runs over his first two starts (11 1/3 innings), France was tagged for eight runs on eight hits and four walks over four innings in a 12-8 loss to the Texas Rangers last Friday. The Astros have dropped all three of his starts this season.

France will make his first career appearance against the Braves. He is 3-3 with a 3.51 ERA in seven career interleague starts.

While Houston right-hander Hunter Brown was the pitcher of record in the Astros' 6-2 loss on Tuesday, his performance was a marked improvement over his opening three starts this season.

Brown worked into the seventh inning and allowed only two runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts. It marked the third quality start in four games for a Houston starter, a sharp reversal from the previous turn through the rotation that yielded a 20.93 ERA.

"It's huge for every starter," Astros manager Joe Espada said of Brown pitching to both sides of the plate. "You've got to keep hitters off-balance and not leaning out over the plate. You've got to keep them uncomfortable. I thought he (Brown) did a really good job of that."