Max Fried returned to form, but the Yankees gave him no run support in Friday's 1-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox.
Takeaways
- Fried (13-5, 3.14 ERA) had his best start in almost a month and his best outing since June 25. After three straight games of eight hits in five innings, Fried fired six scoreless frames while scattering four knocks and striking out seven. He walked three and threw 63 strikes on 99 pitches but dug deep in a rebound no-decision that had the Yankees (69-59) primed for a bounce-back win over the Red Sox (70-59).
- Unfortunately for Fried, Brayan Bello was just as good — if not better. Boston's starter yielded three hits while striking out five and walking one in seven shutout innings before passing the ball to reliever Garrett Whitlock and closer Aroldis Chapman for the perfect final two frames.
- With Fried on the verge of 100 pitches,Aaron Boone's Mark Leiter Jr. decision backfired. Promptly, after Ceddanne Rafaela's leadoff flyout, Leiter allowed consecutive doubles to Nathaniel Lowe and Connor Wong. Leiter (5-7, 4.14 ERA) subsequently retired Romy Gonzalez and Alex Bregman, but not before the one-run damage was done.
- Ultimately, though, the Yankees did not hit in their third shutout loss of August. Singles by Ben Rice (first inning), Trent Grisham (third inning) and Austin Wells (sixth inning) were all that they got. Wells also ran the Yankees right out of the sixth inning when he jumped too far off the base and got doubled up on Grisham, who lined out to shortstop. This is who the Yankees are, and the Red Sox lapped them for the first wild card as a result.
Who's the MVP?
Bello, who went one inning more than Fried in this pitcher's duel.
What's next
Saturday's 1:05 p.m. game at Yankee Stadium. New York RHP Will Warren (7-5, 4.25 ERA) and Boston LHP Garrett Crochet (13-5, 2.43 ERA) are set to start as the Yankees look to salvage the four-game series with at least a split.
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