Braves spoil Reese Olson's return to Georgia as Tigers lose opener, 2-1

Rookie Forrest Wall, who would have his moment later in the game, felt the full effect of both pitches. Just called up from Triple-A, Wall saw four straight sliders from Olson and took a called third strike to end the second inning.

Next time up, in the fifth, Olson started him out with a slider and then got two ugly swings at change-ups, a three-pitch punch-out.

The Braves got runners in scoring position in the second inning (leadoff double by Austin Riley) and third (single and stolen base by Jarred Kelenic) but he stranded both. He struck out Adam Duvall and Wall to get out of the second, and the dangerous Marcell Ozuna with Kelenic at third base in the third.

Olson set up Ozuna with 95 and 96 mph two-seamers and then got him swinging too soon at a changeup.

The Tigers were having their own problems with Braves lefty Max Fried. He dominated them the first time through the order, collecting four strikeouts, three of them called third strikes.

But the Tigers started driving up his pitch count. With two outs in the fourth, Riley Greene and former Braves prospect Justyn-Henry Malloy walked around a base hit by Gio Urshela.

But Fried played on rookie Colt Keith’s aggressiveness, getting him to hit a first-pitch rollover grounder to second base.

The Tigers did break through against Fried in the top of the sixth. After Andy Ibanez singled and Mark Canha walked, Riley Greene ripped an RBI single to right.

But that was all the offense the Tigers could drum up.

Right-hander Will Vest took over for Olson in the seventh and got into immediate trouble. Riley led off with a double and advanced on a fly out to the track in left by Duvall.

Vest got Sean Murphy to hit a one-hopper to Urshela who held Riley at third and threw to first for the second out.

Wall saved the inning, punching a single into right field and tying the game.