Max Fried has made two starts for the Yankees this postseason and they both couldn't have gone more different.
After 6.1 scoreless innings against the Red Sox in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, the left-hander returned for Game 2 of the ALDS against the Blue Jays and allowed seven earned runs in 3.0+ innings.
The poor performance put New York in a tough spot, both in the game and also the series as they return to Yankee Stadium on the verge of elimination.
"They obviously had a really good approach," Fried said. "They were on a lot of my pitches and credit to them. I didn’t get it done and it’s frustrating, especially coming out in a game like this and needed to have a good one."
Following the embarrassing Game 1 loss on Saturday, New York and Fried were hoping to get some revenge on Sunday. However, it was just more of the same with Toronto scoring 13 runs on 15 hits a day after it put up 10 runs on 14 hits.
As for the Yankees' offense, it couldn't figure out Blue Jays rookie starter Trey Yesavage who blanked New York over 5.1 hitless innings while striking out 11. It was only after Yesavage left the game when the Yanks were able to score, pushing across seven runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
Of course, the late burst of offense wasn't enough with the damage already done, but it was a good sign after New York managed to score just once on Saturday.
"Yeah it was tough," said Aaron Judge about Yesavage. "First time seeing him. He was making his pitches, kinda keeping us in between a little bit there all night. We kinda got it going there late, but at that point it’s a little too late. We saw him now, take it back home and we’ve been playing with our backs against the wall all year long so it’s nothing new for us."
The Yankees will now need to win three in a row to advance to the ALCS. That daunting task will start on Tuesday with Carlos Rodón on the hill.
As for Fried, the team will still need to rely on him if it does end up pushing the series to a Game 5. If that's the case, Fried, who has been New York's ace all season, will be ready.
"We’re a good team," Fried said. "Two games doesn’t mean anything. We still have the ability to go out there and win three in a row and win the series so we still gotta believe."
Manager Aaron Boone is also optimistic about his team's chances despite facing elimination.
"Baseball’s a funny game," he said. "I know we’ll show up and be ready to go expecting to win Tuesday night. Obviously feels like the world is caving in around you and you lose two games like that in their building where it doesn’t go right, but all of a sudden you go out there and win a ballgame on Tuesday, the needle can change.
"There’s been a lot of weird things that have happened in baseball this year, this would not be the weirdest, us rallying.
To the Yankees credit, they staved off elimination twice in the Wild Card Series against Boston after losing Game 1 (and wasting Fried's gem). Now they'll have to do it three more times against another division rival who has had their number this year (9-5; 7-1 at home).
The good news? New York went 4-2 against Toronto at Yankee Stadium this season and has historically played well against the Blue Jays at home.
"We got experience," Judge said. "We got guys in here who’ve been to the World Series, in some tough moments, backs up against the wall, especially all season long so we just gotta show up and do our thing."
"We’re ready to go," Fried said. "Obviously had a rough showing here and obviously we’d rather be up 2-0 than down 2-0, but we have a lot of faith in this club and if there’s anyone who can win three in a row, we did down the stretch and we believe in each other here."
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