NEW YORK -- Seemingly the only thing that has eluded Max Fried and the rest of the vaunted Yankees rotation this season has been the luck of perfect timing.
The stable of starters was near the top of the Majors in many key categories like opposing batting average and WHIP, and it led in likely the most important one (3.30 ERA) -- existing as a source of pride for manager Aaron Boone at the beginning of almost every game.
But their success was slightly marred by numerous stretches on the injured list for Fried, Carlos Rodón and Ryan Weathers; it took Gerrit Cole a couple of months to make his 2026 debut. Somehow, the rotation’s brilliance held together by glue and grit until late August, when all four of Cam Schlittler, Fried, Cole and Rodón were healthy at the same time.
“It’s something that I was looking forward to when I first signed here,” Fried said on Tuesday before the 9-0 win over Boston in Game 1 in the American League Wild Card Series, when Schlittler threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts. “It took a little bit longer than anyone probably would have expected. But also we were able to add another really, really quality arm in Cam. …
“But it starts with starting pitching, keeping you in the game. We take a lot of pride in being able to put our best foot forward, and we have a lot of confidence in all those guys that are going to be able to take the ball.”
In Game 2 on Wednesday night, Fried held up his part of the bargain once again. He set the tone in the series-clinching 9-2 win over the Red Sox with six innings of one-run ball, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out six batters. His sole blemish on the scoreboard was an opposite-field home run from Willson Contreras in the sixth inning that barely snuck over the wall in right-center.
Fried improved to 3-6 in his postseason career in his 24th appearance, momentarily wiping away the memory of a regrettable Game 2 outing in the 2025 AL Division Series against the Blue Jays. Against another division rival this go-around, Fried battled to hold the fort vs. Boston until Luis García Jr.’s solo blast in the fourth opened the floodgates for the Yankees’ offense.
In a similar fashion to Schlitter’s electrifying outing the night before, Fried brought the sold-out crowd of 49,004 to its feet with a strikeout against leadoff batter Jahmai Jones. But the six-pitch at-bat, punctuated with a four-seam fastball that clipped the bottom of the zone, colored a laborious first inning that would take 21 pitches to get through.
“Yeah, I mean, it definitely wasn't sharp from the get-go, but I just wanted to challenge them, not try to give any free passes, especially in the first inning,” Fried said. “I was able to make some good pitches and get a couple of strikeouts, kind of collect myself to be able to go out … and get into the flow of the game.”
From there, Fried and catcher Austin Wells were prepared to throw the kitchen sink at a Red Sox lineup that entered the Wild Card Series struggling, and was already behind the eight ball after getting shut out in Game 1.
In a slight deviation from his season-usage percentages, Fried utilized his sweeper as his main weapon (25 of his 98 total pitches), playing the pitch off his cutter (23 pitches) and four-seam fastball (23 pitches). Those three options in his arsenal combined for all nine swings and misses produced on the night, opening the door for his curveball, changeup and sinker as complementary offerings.
The strategy resulted in an average exit velocity of 85.3 mph against Fried, in line with his regular-season mark of 85.9 mph (96th percentile in the Majors). A quiet night for the Red Sox felt increasingly less threatening each time a fly ball lazily dropped into the Yankees’ gloves.
“The plan was to throw all six pitches in the zone to try to keep them off balance,” Wells said, “and get ahead to try and go as deep in the game as possible with a bunch of zeros.”
Not lost in the excitement of advancing to the ALDS against the Rays is how Fried’s gutsy (but also largely painless) quality start helps set up the Yankees’ pitching staff for what lies ahead. Getting through six innings with a large lead to boot allowed New York to depend on converted starter Will Warren for length, avoiding stressful innings for its high-leverage relievers.
It also continues the trend of starting pitching brilliance that has had Yankees fans dreaming for years, when big moves for Fried and Rodón took shape next to Cole’s greatness and, most recently, Schlittler’s emergence. Fried’s outing instilled a confidence that has been growing all season -- that everyone the Yankees hand the ball to at the beginning of the game is prepared to put them in the best position to win.
“Definitely in a good spot. We've got everyone healthy and kind of we're nice and lined up going into the next series,” Fried said. “... I think it's just whoever is going to take the ball and keep us in games to give our offense a chance to come alive and score some runs to be able to win. Sometimes it’s going to be 100, 120 pitches. Sometimes it’s not.
“But we have a good group in there that are really focused on just winning the game and putting the team in front of themselves right now.”