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New York Yankees southpaw Max Fried saved the day for the AL team, avoiding a series sweep against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on Wednesday. With a three-game losing skid, the Yankees needed a bounce-back win and Fried delivered a seven shutout innings to help them win 4-3.
During Fried's shutout outing, the southpaw struck out 11 hitters, only the 11th time he has finished a game with double-digit strikeout numbers. He ensured that none of the Tigers' five hits against him led to a run.
After the game, Yankees captain Aaron Judge handed over his cap to Fried, who is doing well leading the rotation in the absence of de facto pitching leader Gerrit Cole, who is ruled out for the season due to Tommy John surgery.
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“Gerrit Cole is a one-of-one,” Judge said. “You can ask every guy in this room what he means to us. But you got a guy like Fried, who was an ace for the Braves for so long, and you bring him into our rotation to kind of pick up that slack for Cole, he’s been incredible. We want 54 on the mound every night that we can get. So it’s just another gem by him.”
Max Fried discusses his start and meeting Jack Flaherty after the game
Max Fried and Jack Flaherty were rivals Wednesday night, with both starting pitchers trying to win the game for their respective teams. Offense was hard to come by, as even Flaherty held off Yankees hitters until 5.1 innings.
During his stay on the mound, Flaherty only allowed three hits, zero runs and three walks while striking out nine. Fried was asked about his rival pitcher after the game and the southpaw said:
“It was cool to be able to walk out before the game and just give him a little head nod,” Fried said, adding that he planned to see Flaherty after the game. “We’re both competitive, so we knew that we were locked in and had a job to do. But it was fun."
Fried then went on to discuss his start as the left-hander said:
"It was a cool experience, but we lost the first two of the series, and I just wanted to make sure that I did whatever I could to keep us in the game.”
With his latest quality start, Max Fried has improved his season ERA to 1.56, while the Yankees improve to 7-5 for the season, half a game behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East.
