Max Fried Looks to Lead Yankees in Game 1

Max Fried and the Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles today, 7-3. The ace of the Yankees’ pitching staff, Max Fried, pitched well for the Yankees today as they took on the rival Baltimore Orioles, with their postseason hanging in the balance. This was a start to the huge four-game series. The Yankees needed a big start from Max Fried, and staked him to a first-inning lead. Max Fried makes hitters uncomfortable with a six-pitch repertoire. Do you think Max Fried will lead the Yankees’ starting rotation into the playoffs?

Lineups: As Max Fried Gets Big Win

The Baltimore Orioles had Ryan Mountcastle leading off, and he was the designated hitter. Jordan Westburg was the third baseman and batted second. Gunnar Henderson was the shortstop and batted third. Tyler O’Neill was the left fielder and batted fourth.  Jeremiah Jackson was the right fielder and batted fifth. Coby Mayo was the first baseman and batted sixth. Samuel Basallo was the catcher and batted seventh. Jorge Mateo was the center fielder and batted eighth. Luis Vázquez was the shortstop and batted ninth. 

For the Yankees, Paul Goldschmidt played first base and led off. Aaron Judge was the right fielder and batted second. Cody Bellinger was the left fielder and batted third.  Giancarlo Stanton was the designated hitter and batted fourth. Jasson Dominguez pinch-ran for him in the seventh inning and stayed in the game as the designated hitter. Ahmed Rosario was the second baseman and batted fifth. Jazz Chisholm Jr. pinch-hit for him in the sixth inning. Trent Grisham was the center fielder and batted sixth. Anthony Volpe was the shortstop and batted seventh. Jose Caballero was the third baseman and batted eighth.  Austin Wells was the catcher and batted ninth. 

News and Notes

The Yankees’ magic number at the end of last night’s game was seven. They took the field tonight knowing that the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox both lost today.

Luis Gil, pitching only four and two-thirds of an inning in last night’s 10-5 win over the Minnesota Twins, did not make a good argument to be the third Yankee starting pitcher in the playoffs. Cam Schlittler also pitched four and two-thirds innings the night before. Maybe the third playoff starter will be Will Warren?

The Yankees have ten games remaining, including tonight. All ten of the games are against the last-place Baltimore Orioles and the last-place Chicago White Sox. They have the easiest schedule remaining in Major League Baseball, and they can use the easy schedule to put pressure on the Toronto Blue Jays.

Game Reaction

The Yankees scored two runs in the first inning. They staked Max Fried out to a 2-0 lead.

The Baltimore starting pitcher, Cade Povich, struck out all three Yankees he faced in the fourth inning. Max Fried returned the favor, sort of, by retiring the Baltimore Orioles on six pitches in the fourth inning.

Max Fried pitched very well for the Yankees. Even better is that he seemed to be all the way back from his blister-induced midseason swoon. He had thirteen strikeouts in seven innings. That tied a career high.

Scoring Summary

In the first inning, Rosario had a two-run double, and Goldschmidt and Bellinger both scored. The Yankees took a 2-0 first-inning lead.

In the fifth inning, Wells singled and Volpe scored. It was 3-0 Yankees.

In the seventh inning, Goldschmidt singled and Carabello scored. It was 4-0 Yankees. Then Judge hit a sacrifice fly and Wells scored. It was 5-0 Yankees. Then, Stanton hit a two-run double and both Goldschmidt and Bellinger scored. It was 7-0 Yankees.

the final score of the game.

Conclusion

Max Fried pitched well, and the Yankees scored some runs, including staking him out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. What was most important thing for Fried was his efficient and long outing is that he saved the bullpen. At the start of a four-game series, this was important. The Yankees and Orioles play tomorrow at 7:10 pm Eastern.