While the Atlanta Braves failed to close out the World Series at home with Sunday’s Game 5 loss, they head to Houston with their top (healthy) pitchers — Max Fried and Ian Anderson — ready to go on normal rest. And all eyes will be on Fried for Tuesday’s Game 6, particularly after his rough outings in the NLCS and World Series Game 2.

But one former Braves player thinks he and the team both spotted the problem: Fried was tipping his pitches.

No matter the level of baseball, teams are always looking for a tell from the opposing pitchers. After all — as the Astros know all too well — it makes baseball a whole lot easier when you have an idea of what pitch is coming. This isn’t sign-stealing, though. It’s a mechanical mistake from the pitcher, and even the slightest deviation from a pitcher’s normal mechanics can be enough to tip off an offense.

During Game 2, former Braves player Matt Diaz noticed that Fried was slightly wiggling his glove from the stretch before throwing an off-speed pitch.

Here's what Diaz said

In an appearance on MLB Network Radio, Diaz said that the problem started during the NLCS:

“Against the Dodgers, I’m sitting from my couch and calling every pitch he’s throwing. He was tipping against the Dodgers bad. And against the Astros again in the stretch, he was tipping a bit. And then he stopped. … In that second inning, when he was in the stretch, I was able to call ’em for a little bit until he stopped. So they corrected it. I think Fried’s the right guy for Game 6. So against the Dodgers, it was in the pace of his flare. A lot of pitchers flare a changeup or flare a split. … They’d flare the glove. To combat that, pitchers wiggle their glove when they’re coming set. Max’s was certainly in the pace as he was coming set, how fast he was wiggling it versus how slow he was wiggling it.”

During Game 2, it was subtle, but there were a few differences early on in how Fried threw fastballs and breaking balls from the stretch.

On a fastball, his glove didn't move

Yuli Gurriel took the opening-pitch fastball for a strike, and given the inconsistency with Fried’s mechanics, Gurriel likely knew another fastball was coming on the 0-2 pitch.

That hit beat the Braves’ shift and sent Kyle Tucker to third.

When compared with a breaking pitch, it’s easy to see the difference. Altuve was able to get his bat on an outside breaking ball — though the contact wasn’t deep enough for a sacrifice fly.

Still, keep an eye on the glove:

And as Diaz pointed out, Fried appeared to correct the issue in the fifth inning. But by that time, the Braves were already down, 5-2. The encouraging sign for Atlanta is that the team spotted the issue, and Fried will likely be aware of it as he takes the mound for Game 6.

Either way, it will be something to keep a lookout for with a World Series title on the line.