The true test of any winning team is how well it copes when injuries idle its best players.

The Atlanta Braves, seeking their sixth straight National League East title, are about to take that test.

Although the Braves entered play Tuesday with a six-a-half game lead over the second-place Miami Marlins, they’re starting the most difficult part of their schedule – without their top two starting pitchers.

Max Fried, runner-up for the NL Cy Young Award trophy last season, joined Kyle Wright, healing from a sore shoulder, on the team’s injured list Tuesday.

According to Mark Bowman, Braves beat writer for MLB.com, Fried’s stay on the sidelines may be so prolonged that he’ll have to work himself back into condition as if he never went through spring training.

Even though the season is just six weeks old, both Fried and Wright have now had two stints on the IL.

Fried, who strained a hamstring on Opening Day, pitched well after his return, yielding one run in 20 innings before the Baltimore Orioles bashed him for seven runs (five earned) in six innings May 5.

The 29-year-old lefty had an MRI days later and was diagnosed with a strained left forearm – a factor that may have caused a drop in fastball velocity over his last two starts.

Fried was also uncharacteristically wild in the last inning he worked against the Orioles, walking two batters. He also made two errors – atypical for a pitcher with three Gold Gloves for fielding excellence.

Although his stay on the 15-day injured list is retroactive to May 6, Fried may be out considerably longer – first for the forearm to heal and then to begin throwing and working his way back by gradually stretching out as a starter would do during the 30-game spring exhibition schedule.

The Santa Monica native has had consecutive 14-7 seasons and is revered in Atlanta for pitching six scoreless innings in Game 6 of the 2021 World Series, allowing the Braves to beat the Astros in six games and win their second world championship since moving south from Milwaukee.

His career record is 56-26 with a 3.05 earned run average.

If there’s a silver lining to the Fried injury, it’s that Tommy John surgery is not indicated at this time, according to team officials. The 6-4, 190-pound pitcher had the surgery before making his major-league debut with the Braves in 2017.

Wright, a 27-year-old right-hander, got a late start to spring training after submitting to a cortisone shot for his sore shoulder in January. He had just enjoyed his best season, leading the majors with 21 wins and posting a 3.19 ERA in 30 starts.

Without Fried and Wright, the only certain Atlanta starters are Spencer Strider, who leads the league in strikeouts; Bryce Elder, performing well in his first full season; and 39-year-old veteran Charlie Morton, best-known for his post-season heroics with several clubs.

Also in the picture are Dylan Dodd and Jared Shuster, rookie left-handers who won jobs with strong spring performances but have been erratic when asked to pitch for Atlanta.

With both Fried and Wright likely to be sidelined indefinitely, the Braves could shift veteran Jesse Chavez, the oldest man on the roster, into a temporary starting role or even sign former World Series hero Madison Bumgarner, an unexpected free agent after drawing his release from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Bumgarner, whose North Carolina home is in Braves Country, would cost only a pro-rated version of the minimum $720,000, with Arizona responsible for the remainder.

Another possibility is incumbent Colin McHugh, a 36-year-old Atlanta native who has made 126 starts in his 10-year career.

Two other potential starters were lost when Ian Anderson, a 2021 post-season hero, and Huascar Ynoa both underwent Tommy John elbow surgery.

The Braves opened the season with a payroll of $203,077,500, according to Cot’s Contracts, with Fried earning $13.5 million and Wright at $750,000. Atlanta spent less than any other team on free agents last winter but may have to rethink that approach to cope with their tidal wave of pitching injuries.