Max Fried dominates for wild card-contending Braves in 3-1 win over Blue Jays

ATLANTA (AP) — Max Fried pitched seven strong innings and the Atlanta Braves beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Friday night.

Atlanta began the night tied with the Mets for the final NL wild-card spot. New York was playing the Cincinnati Reds.

Fried (9-8) had command of the plate all night, striking out eight and allowing just five hits. Toronto's lone run was unearned, coming in the third inning on an Atlanta error.

It marked the 25th straight game Atlanta pitchers have allowed three runs or fewer, the longest such streak in baseball this season and the longest in Braves franchise history.

Raisel Iglesias pitched out of trouble in the ninth for his 31st save in 34 opportunities, extending his scoreless streak to 24 1/3 innings.

The Braves got out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning and never looked back. Jarred Kelenic, Gio Urshela and Michael Harris II had RBI singles.

This was Atlanta's first win against Toronto since Aug. 6, 2020. The Blue Jays previously held a nine-game winning streak against the Braves, including a sweep of Atlanta in 2021.

Toronto starter Kevin Gausman (12-11) gave up three runs and six hits in six innings while walking three and striking out five. Prior to the loss, Gausman held the mark for fourth lowest ERA on the road in the AL this season at 2.52.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., drove in Toronto's only run.

Blue Jays: INF Bo Bichette (calf strain) is set to join Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday for a rehab stint before returning to the Toronto lineup.

Braves: INF Whit Merrifield returned to the lineup Friday after missing two games due to a concussion from taking a pitch to the back of the head, but left the game early after fouling a ball off of his left foot.

Braves rookie RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (5-6, 3.69) will start against Blue Jays RHP José Berríos (14-9, 3.59).

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Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Max Fried (54) works against the Toronto Blue Jays in the second inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta Braves' Michael Harris II attempts to steal second base before being tagged out by Toronto Blue Jays third base Will Wagner (7) in the second inning of a baseball game Friday Sept. 6, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta Braves' Jarred Kelenic drives in a run with a base hit in the second inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta Braves' Michael Harris II drives in a run with a ground ball in the second inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta Braves' Gio Urshela gestures after driving in a run with a single in the second inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Kevin Gausman delivers in the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Max Fried works against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning of a baseball game Sept. 6, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — It's noisy, smelly, shy — and New Zealand’s bird of the year.

The hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin, won the country’s fiercely fought avian election on Monday, offering hope to supporters of the endangered bird that recognition from its victory might prompt a revival of the species.

It followed a campaign for the annual Bird of the Year vote that was without the foreign interference scandals and cheating controversies of past polls. Instead, campaigners in the long-running contest sought votes in the usual ways — launching meme wars, seeking celebrity endorsements and even getting tattoos to prove their loyalty.

More than 50,000 people voted in the poll, 300,000 fewer than last year, when British late night host John Oliver drove a humorous campaign for the pūteketeke -- a “deeply weird bird” which eats and vomits its own feathers – securing a landslide win.

This year, the number of votes cast represented 1% of the population of New Zealand — a country where nature is never far away and where a love of native birds is instilled in citizens from childhood.

“Birds are our heart and soul,” said Emma Rawson, who campaigned for the fourth-placed ruru, a small brown owl with a melancholic call. New Zealand's only native mammals are bats and marine species, putting the spotlight on its birds, which are beloved — and often rare.

This year's victor, the hoiho — its name means “noise shouter” in the Māori language — is a shy bird thought to be the world's rarest penguin. Only found on New Zealand's South and Chatham islands — and on subantarctic islands south of the country — numbers have dropped perilously by 78% in the past 15 years.

“This spotlight couldn’t have come at a better time. This iconic penguin is disappearing from mainland Aotearoa before our eyes,” Nicola Toki, chief executive of Forest & Bird — the organization that runs the poll — said in a press release, using the Māori name for New Zealand. Despite intensive conservation efforts on land, she said, the birds drown in nets and sea and can't find enough food.

“The campaign has raised awareness, but what we really hope is that it brings tangible support,” said Charlie Buchan, campaign manager for the hoiho. But while the bird is struggling, it attracted a star billing in the poll: celebrity endorsements flew in from English zoologist Jane Goodall, host of the Amazing Race Phil Keoghan, and two former New Zealand prime ministers.

Aspiring bird campaign managers — this year ranging from power companies to high school students — submit applications to Forest & Bird for the posts. The hoiho bid was run by a collective of wildlife groups, a museum, a brewery and a rugby team in the city of Dunedin, where the bird is found on mainland New Zealand, making it the highest-powered campaign of the 2024 vote.

“I do feel like we were the scrappy underdog,” said Emily Bull, a spokesperson for the runner-up campaign, for the karure — a small, “goth” black robin only found on New Zealand’s Chatham Island.

The karure's bid was directed by the students’ association at Victoria University of Wellington, prompting a fierce skirmish on the college campus when the student magazine staged an opposing campaign for the kororā, or little blue penguin.

The rivalry provoked a meme war and students in bird costumes. Several people got tattoos. When the magazine’s campaign secured endorsements of the city council and local zoo, Bull despaired for the black robin's bid.

But the karure — which has performed a real-life comeback since the 1980s, with conservation efforts increasing the species from five birds to 250 — took second place overall.

This weekend as Rawson wrapped up her campaign for the ruru, she took her efforts directly to the people, courting votes at a local dog park. The veteran campaign manager who has directed the bids for other birds in past years was rewarded by the ruru placing fourth in the poll, her best ever result.

“I have not been in human political campaigning before,” said Rawson, who is drawn to the competition because of the funds and awareness it generates. The campaign struck a more sedate tone this year, she added.

“There’s been no international interference, even though that was actually a lot of fun,” she said, referring to Oliver’s high-profile campaign.

It was not the only controversy the election has seen. While anyone in the world can vote, Forest & Bird now requires electors to verify their ballots after foreign interference plagued the contest before. In 2018, Australian pranksters cast hundreds of fraudulent votes in favor of the shag.

The following year, Forest & Bird was forced to clarify that a flurry of votes from Russia appeared to be from legitimate bird-lovers.

While campaigns are fiercely competitive, managers described tactics more akin to pro wrestling — in which fights are scripted — than divisive political contests.

“Sometimes people want to make posts that are kind of like beefy with you and they’ll always message you and be like, hey, is it okay if I post this?” Bull said. “There is a really sweet community. It's really wholesome.”

This story corrects percentage to 1% instead of 10%.

A karure, or Chatham Islands black robin pictured on Chatham Island in Sept. 2016 is runner-up to a hoiho or yellow-eyed penguin in the New Zealand Bird of the Year competition, announced Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Oscar Thomas via AP)

A man rides past a mural celebrating John Oliver's New Zealand's 2023 Bird of the Year campaign in Wellington, New Zealand, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Charlotte GrahamMcLay)

A hoiho or yellow-eyed penguin pictured on April 2, 2023, has won New Zealand's annual Bird of the Year vote, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, after a fierce contest absent the foreign interference and controversies that have upset the country's avian elections before. (Hayden Parsons via AP)

A hoiho or yellow-eyed penguin pictured on April 2, 2023, has won New Zealand's annual Bird of the Year vote, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, after a fierce contest absent the foreign interference and controversies that have upset the country's avian elections before. (Hayden Parsons via AP)

A hoiho or yellow-eyed penguin pictured on April 2, 2023, has won New Zealand's annual Bird of the Year vote, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, after a fierce contest absent the foreign interference and controversies that have upset the country's avian elections before. (Hayden Parsons via AP)

A hoiho or yellow-eyed penguin pictured on April 2, 2023, has won New Zealand's annual Bird of the Year vote, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, after a fierce contest absent the foreign interference and controversies that have upset the country's avian elections before. (Hayden Parsons via AP)