Max Fried battled his way through another great start as the Yankees won 11-2 in the first game of a double header against the Blue Jays.
Max Fried and the New York Yankees looked to right the ship in Game One of a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays Sunday.
Standing in their way was Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman. A three-time Cy Young Award vote getter, and two-time All-Star, the 34-year-old Gausman began Sunday’s matchup with a solid 3.16 ERA in five starts.
Entering the contest, Gausman owned a career 10-9 record against the Yankees with a 3.63 ERA and 171 SO in 36 starts.
Gausman made quick work of the Yankees through the first two innings. He allowed just one hit and collected a pair of strikeouts on an economical 18 pitches. Yankees SP Max Fried labored, meanwhile, hurling 55 pitches and allowing a run on five hits through his first three.
Fried’s most recent start was his best in his brief Yankees tenure, tossing seven and two-thirds innings of shutout baseball against the Tampa Bay Rays. He surrendered just two hits in that game, taking a no-hit bid into the eighth before a controversial overturned call spoiled his date with history.
Taking Control
Eager to disrupt the cruising Gausman, the Yankees took a more patient approach. Long at-bats throughout the Yankee lineup set the table for C Austin Wells, who smashed a bases clearing three-RBI double.
“He [Wells] was down 0-2 and fought back,” said Manager Aaron Boone. “He doesn’t try to do too much… that’s what he does so well, even when he’s going through a rough patch. Wells doesn’t get bigger than himself and understands the situation.”
Five walks, two hits, and six runs later, Gausman’s day was over. Sunday’s third inning was a career-high 53-pitches for Gausman, who only recorded two outs in the frame.
Take Us Home
In a 6-1 hole, a paltry Blue Jays offense set to work erasing the deficit against the laboring Fried. At 3.39 runs per game, Toronto’s offense ranks 27th in baseball, above only the Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, and Texas Rangers.
Seeking a career-best-tying fifth win in a row, Fried settled in, cruising through the rest of his six-inning outing. Only one more Blue Jay would reach base against Fried, whose final line ended with six innings pitched, six hits, one run allowed on three strikeouts and two walks.
Late RBI knocks from SS Anthony Volpe and 3B Oswaldo Cabrera were more than enough insurance for RPs Yerry De Los Santos and Tyler Matzek, who held the Blue Jays to just one run in the later innings.
All nine Yankees starters recorded a hit or scored in a pure team effort as New York took game one in a dominant 11-2 win.
The Yankees are now 6-0 in Fried’s starts, and his microscopic 1.43 ERA ranks firmly third in the American League.
“There are so many different ways he [Fried] can beat you on any day,” said Boone. “It was a little bit of a grind for him early but when he starts getting in the strike zone early, he’s a tough guy to beat.”
Looking Ahead
Clarke Schmidt was slated to toe the slab for the rubber match in Game Two. Just his third start of the season, Schmidt was looking to expand upon an injury-shortened 2024 campaign in which he posted a 2.85 ERA in 85 and one thirds innings. The Yankees ended up winning 5-1, sweeping the double header. Schmidt pitched very well, allowing one run over five innings while striking out six batters.
The Yankees offense once again managed to avoid an appearance from recently demoted closer Devin Williams in Game Two and ended the homestand with a series win. Unfortunately for the Bronx Bombers, they dropped the first game of their series with the Baltimore Orioles Monday night, but Williams pitched a perfect inning. Preserving a one-run deficit was an encouraging development.
SP Carlos Rodon takes the mound tonight against SP Kyle Gibson, who will be making his season debut after signing late in Spring Training.
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