After Rough Stretch, Max Fried Returns To Ace Status For Yankees In Final Month

Max Fried glanced at his hand on July 12 and a frustrating start against the Cubs ended early with a blister.

It also was part of his worst stretch of the season as the Yankees slowly tumbled out of first place and ceded the AL East lead to the Toronto Blue Jays.

A little over two months later, Fried might be even better than he was earlier and he might be creeping into the AL Cy Young discussion along with Garrett Crochet and Tarik Skubal by getting to 18-5.

In a spot where the Yankees experienced mixed results with playing after a late flight because of a getaway day night game, Fried was at his best and the Yankees continued to enjoy one of their best days of the season because he dominated their win while the Blue Jays, Red Sox and Tigers all lost afternoon games on their getaway days.

Fried’s 13 strikeouts in seven innings in a stress-free 7-0 win at Baltimore were about as masterful as it gets for the Yankees, whose rotation ERA is down to 3.68. By comparison, the Tigers are at 3.83, the Red Sox are at 3.97 and the Blue Jays are at 4.23, the worst mark amongst any team currently in playoff position.

“I feel like he’s in a real good spot. He’s throwing the ball well,” manager Aaron Boone told reporters in Baltimore. “He’s an ace, and he pitches like that. He’s had a phenomenal year to this point.”

Fried’s blister experience was part of an eight-start stretch where he posted an atrocious 6.80 ERA. It saw his ERA climb from 1.92 to 3.26 and now it is down to 2.92, which ranks 10th in the majors.

His rough stretch culminated in a no-decision and the Yankees overcame his ineffectiveness for their second win in a seven-game winning streak that was the early stages of the turnaround from being six over .500 to getting to 19 over and a chance at the division.

Fried’s first start of the turnaround was a no-decision in a 1-0 loss to the Red Sox on Aug. 22 in a game best remembered for his encounter with a squirrel on the mound at Yankee Stadium. It was part of a three-game losing streak that dropped the Yankees into a road team for the wild-card position and since getting outscored 19-4 in those games, the Yankees are on a 17-7 run.

Although there are a few clunkers like the Monday night arrival after another Sunday primetime game against the Red Sox and last week’s two losses to the Tigers, the good is certainly outweighing the bad and Fried is integral while cementing his status as the top starter for the postseason who holds a 3.57 ERA against current playoff teams, a mark inflated by not being at his best against the Blue Jays, Cubs, Mets and Toronto during his eight-game slump.

Fried is 5-0 with a 1.60 ERA in his last six starts and his 18 wins made him the third Yankee with 18 wins since CC Sabathia achieved it in his first three seasons in 2009 to 2011. It ranks among the best first seasons by a free agent import in Yankee history up there with 2009 when Sabathia was 19-8 with a 3.37 ERA and Jimmy Key was 18-6 with a 3.00 ERA in 1993.

“I’m feeling really good physically,” Fried told reporters after throwing 87 pitches and not throwing any of his seven pitch types more than 20 times. “I feel like I did toward the beginning of the year; just changing speeds, trying to get deep into games and trying to win games. It was really big from the offense, coming out early and scoring some runs.”

It is a strong impression in the first year of an eight-year, $218 million contract the Yankees lavished on him when they outbid the Red Sox. His high level of performance was certainly what they envisioned but it was anticipated Fried would be doing on it on the days after Gerrit Cole pitches.

Instead Fried is morphing into another ace while Cole makes his recovering from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. The view of Fried and Cole being in the same rotation is tantalizing enough but for now the view of Fried’s recent performances gives the Yankees to salivate about and enjoy with the belief they could be seeing more in a deep postseason run that may or may not wind up with their first World Series title since Sabathia’s stellar debut in 2009.

“He’s had a number of pretty impressive games this year,” Boone said. “This was really good, really efficient.”