Max Fried Tries To Even Up ALDS At 1

Max Fried will look to even up the American League Division Series for the Yankees in Toronto against the Blue Jays. Fried is one of the best pitchers in baseball, and after some struggles in July, he has pitched great recently. He had a great start in the Wild Card series against the Boston Red Sox. In that start, Fried was out-pitched by Garrett Crochet. Will he be out-pitched again in Game 2 by Trey Yesavage?

Pitching Preview: Max Fried to Start Game 2 For Yanks in ALDS

After Kevin Gausman, the Toronto Blue Jays are going to start 22-year-old rookie Yesavage for their second home game. This move is because they would rather have Shane Bieber on the road at Yankee Stadium for Game 3. Yesavage, the 2024 first-round pick out of East Carolina, has done great in his first three Major League Baseball starts against the Tampa Bay Rays and Kansas City Royals.

Yesavages‘ walk rate is a little high, and he cannot afford to put extra runners on base against this powerful batting order, or against Fried. In three games started, he won one and struck out 16 batters in 14.1 innings pitched. He may have the best name in baseball.

Fried will be fully rested by Sunday and no doubt raring and ready to go in Toronto against the Blue Jays. The Wild Card Series Game 1 loss to Crochet was no fault of Fried’s, as the southpaw left with the lead after 6.1 innings of scoreless ball, limiting the Red Sox to four hits and three walks before the Yankees’ bullpen blew the 1-0 lead he gave them.

Overall, Fried’s statistics were awesome for the Yankees. He is likely going to finish third in the American League Cy Young voting. He won 19 games for the Yankees this year. He struck out 189 batters for the Yankees. In 32 starts, he had a WHIP of 1.101.

Some Other Important Things

• The Yankees have the pitching advantage in the next two games on paper, so they will look to win them both.
• The Yankee killers were at it again in the first game. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Nathan Lukes had a key two-run double.
• The Toronto Blue Jays, the best fielding team in Major League Baseball in the regular season, made a couple of outstanding plays in this game. That is the great equalizer. If the Blue Jays get extra outs, they should not, and the Yankees give away runs, the Blue Jays will win the series.
• The Yankees’ bullpen imploded in Game 1, giving up four runs in the seventh inning. Since most games are likely to be close and go to the bullpen, this is a real problem for the Yankees. In particular, Luke Weaver, who has not retired a batter this postseason, was awful again tonight. He should not pitch again for the Yankees.

Conclusion

Fried is one of the best pitchers in baseball, and the Yankees are confident with him against anyone, especially a 22-year-old rookie. The Blue Jays embarrassed them in the first game by scoring lots of runs and winning by a wide margin. The good news for the Yankees is that it does not matter if the Blue Jays won 2-1 or 10-1. In baseball, momentum is only as good as your next day’s starting pitcher. The Yankees are in good hands in the second game.