Max Fried dominates as Yankees one-hit Rays to take series opener
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.Max Fried is a complicated pitcher.
He does not often overwhelm with velocity.He does not miss an elite number of bats.Everything moves, a weapon for every quadrant of the strike zone, resulting in a more subtle form of domination.But the results are simple: When he pitches, his team wins.The Yankees improved to 7-for-7 in Fried starts Friday, when the lefty one-hit the Rays over seven brilliant innings in a 3-0, series-opening victory in front of 45,189 in The Bronx.Aaron Boone’s group (19-13) used its stopper and ace to bounce back from a disappointing series in Baltimore and started a six-game homestand with a crisp, well-pitched and well-defended effort.Fresh off being named the American League Pitcher of the Month for April, Fried began his May with the same kind of artful excellence.
He did not allow a hit until there was one out in the fifth (when a well-struck single from Jose Caballero dashed hope of history), and he only let one Ray into scoring position: Junior Caminero, who reached on a fielder’s choice in the first inning, advanced on a passed ball and was stranded at second when Fried struck out Jonathan Aranda.That was as close as the Rays came to a rally against a pitcher who threw seven different pitches that ranged from a 71.8 mph curveball to a 97.4 mph four-seamer.Tampa Bay had no answers and never looked comfortable as Fried, who walked two and hit one, lowered his ERA to 1.01.On what became a good night for Brian Cashman’s offseason, the Yankees only scored through a three-run home run from Paul Goldschmidt in the fifth inning.
The offense consistently mounted threats — taking nine at-bats with runners in scoring position and coming up empty eight times — and could not cash in until Goldschmidt lifted a short-porch shot off lefty Mason Montgomery with two outs and runners on second and third....