It wasn’t the best Opening Day for NL East aces.
Shortly after the Mets announced Thursday that Justin Verlander would be added to the injured list, Braves star pitcher Max Fried left his first start of the season in the fourth inning against the Nationals with left hamstring discomfort, the team confirmed.
It’s unclear exactly when Fried’s injury occurred, but just before he exited the game, he covered first base when former Mets first baseman Dominic Smith grounded out.
Fried attempted to throw a warmup pitch but then handed the ball to a Braves staffer and walked off the field.
He threw 3.1 innings and allowed one run on four hits while striking out two batters.
Fried got his first All-Star nod last season en route to compiling a 14-7 record for the second consecutive year.
He also recorded a 2.48 ERA — the 29-year-old’s lowest in a season where he made more than 11 starts.
Fried helped the Braves defeat the Astros in Game 6 of the World Series in 2021, tossing six shutout innings and allowing just four singles against Houston’s lineup.
He became the second star pitcher from the NL East to deal with an injury Thursday, as Verlander, 40, sustained a low-grade teres major strain and will miss his first start of the season.
The Mets announced that Verlander — whom they signed to a two-year, $86.6 million deal in the offseason — will continue throwing and be scanned again in a week.
“It’s not the way I wanted my Mets tenure to start, that is for sure,” Verlander told reporters before the team’s season opener in Miami. “I put in a ton of work to not have things like this happen. We are athletes and unfortunately, when you are working at a high level of intensity, stuff like this does come along.
“I’m just very thankful it’s as minor as it is, but it still doesn’t subtract from how I feel.”
The Braves chipped away at the Mets’ NL East lead in 2022 before overtaking them for the divisional title.
Despite Fried’s early exit Thursday, the Braves got their first win of 2023 with a 7-2 victory.
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