Max Fried only lasted three innings on Wednesday afternoon in Baltimore, indeed seeming to take himself out of the game after the third frame. Down 3-0, the lefty immediately went down the tunnel followed by members of the training staff, and pitching coach Matt Blake tapped Paul Blackburn to come in for longman’s work.
Fried has had blister problems before, affecting him for about five starts last season. I’m not a doctor, but I want to look at Fried’s pitch chart:
Look at the top of the zone, specifically how many cutters and four-seamers Max missed, and missed badly. These are pitches he wants at the letters, and you get that ball down with pressure on top of the baseball — first and middle fingers on four seams, then first finger on top and thumb on the side of the cutter pressing in. A blister or hotspot would affect your ability to apply pressure to the baseball, therefore it won’t sink the way you want it, and instead of starting with a cutter at the letters for a strike, you have an easy take and you’re behind 1-0.
To compensate, you’re going to speed up your arm action, and that throws off your regular pitching mechanics. Fried multiple times fell off the mound more violently than we’re used to, which once again makes me think there’s a hotspot. Break out the pickle juice.
That Fried left the game so decisively is actually a cause for optimism from me, since he seemed to recognize the problem rather than needing imaging or some other kind of diagnosis. Still, given this has been an issue in the past, and the Yankees don’t look great right now, a quick fix would be more than welcome.
Update
Welp. That’s worse than blisters. Even with Gerrit Cole due back soon from his Tommy John surgery rehab, Fried needing tests on his own elbow is, of course, awful news. Lovely.
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