Max Fried Could Win 3 Game Series for Yanks

The Yankees could win the rubber game against the Houston Astros behind ace Max Fried. Max Fried needs to pitch better than he has in his last six starts if the Yankees are to win the rubber game. Max Fried has a favorable pitching match-up against journeyman Jason Alexander.

Hopefully, the Yankees can use the momentum from their 5-4 emotional win on Old Timers Day to propel them, but in baseball, momentum is only as good as your next day’s starting pitcher. If that is the case, then the Yankees are in good shape. With the schedule getting easier, the Yankees could go on a run. Do you think the Yankees will go on a winning streak?

Pitching Preview: Max Fried Against Jason Alexander

Max Fried has had a good season for the Yankees, though he has slowed down a bit in his past six starts. It seems the blister that he developed put his season into a bit of a tailspin. Even though only twenty of the thirty-one runs Max Fried has surrendered since the beginning of July were earned, as the left-hander has had to pitch around a bevy of defensive miscues, that still amounts to a 5.81 earned run average. This is a sharp turnaround from the sub-2.00 earned run average he posted through his first 17 starts. Overall, he is 12-4 with a 2,48 earned run average.

Max Fried has also allowed far too much traffic on the bases; forty-eight batters have reached safely during that thirty-one inning stretch. Last time out was pretty bad as Max Fried allowed four runs in a nightmarish second inning in which every Texas Ranger in the lineup came to the plate, and a botched pickoff by the gold glove left-hander exacerbated his struggles. Still, he otherwise held Texas off the board through five innings of work. That was gutsy. Yankee fans hope a better version of Max Fried shows up in the game tomorrow.

Journeyman Jason Alexander will start the rubber game of the series, giving the Yankees a distinct advantage on the hill. Alexander has allowed twelve runs in just four appearances with the Athletics earlier this year; he has been more effective in Houston, pitching to a 3.16 earned run average through five appearances, four of which have been starts. His most recent appearance was the best of his career, with the 32-year-old pitching six scoreless innings while allowing just four Miami baserunners. The Marlins are one of the hottest teams in baseball, so his last performance was outstanding.

That Went Okay

Giancarlo Stanton played right field and did not implode. He fielded two balls, catching one and chasing a double nobody could catch in the outfield, and throwing behind the baserunner at second base. He ran pretty well after that ball, so his poor defense did not hurt the Yankees. The fact that he did not hurt himself or the team means Yankee Manager Aaron Boone can now feel comfortable playing Stanton in right field. He will need to do so while Aaron Judge is injured. Max Fried is a groundball pitcher, so there should not be too many fly balls to the outfield, thereby limiting Stanton’s fielding chances.

Math: Win and You Are In

Counting this game, the Yankees have forty-five games left in the season. It does get late early. They are 62-55. They need to win twenty-eight of their remaining forty-five games to reach ninety wins. They probably need ninety wins to guarantee they make the playoffs. Though with three wild card teams in each league, they might be able to get in with eighty-five wins. At 6.0 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays, the American League East Division is out of reach. The remaining schedule is relatively easy, and if they play to their full potential, they can go 28-17. They made their bed; now they must sleep in it.

Conclusion

The Yankees seem to have the advantage in this game, but watch that Alexander is coming off the best start of his career, and Max Fried has been struggling of late. Jose Altuve has killed the Yankees historically, so the Yankees should consider walking him in big spots. That is the same thing for newly acquired Astro third baseman, Carlos Correa. He also hits well against the Yankees. Yankee fans lustily boo both, and maybe that motivates them. This rubber game of the three-game series is a big one for the Yankees. A series win against a good Astros team would be quite an achievement.