With one out in the fourth inning and Max Fried preparing a 3-2 delivery to freshly-promoted Red Sox rookie Jhostynxon Garcia, the Yankees’ southpaw received an unexpected mound visit on Friday night.
But the visit didn’t come from Yankees manager Aaron Boone, pitching coach Matt Blake, or even a teammate. Instead, a loose squirrel approached Fried on the bump, coming within inches of his feet before being shooed away. The critter then scampered toward Ben Rice at first base and, eventually, Cody Bellinger in right field before seeking shelter in Yankee Stadium’s digital scoreboard in right.
“I saw him running at me, and my first thought was, ‘Don’t do anything to embarrass yourself,’” Fried said.
Fortunately for Fried, the squirrely encounter ended up being his closest call of the night, as the ace held Boston scoreless for six innings while totaling four hits, three walks and seven strikeouts over 99 pitches. Unfortunately for the Yankees, the performance didn’t lead to a win, as Boston squeaked by with a 1-0 victory.
The Yankees are now 1-7 against the Red Sox this season. Boston, meanwhile, now has a half-game lead over the Yankees atop the American League Wild Card standings.
“I don’t like losing to anyone, but you never want to lose to the Sox,” Aaron Boone said. “They’ve had our number here for this stretch, and we get a chance to change that tomorrow.”
While the rival Red Sox remained a thorn in the Yankees’ side on Friday, Fried’s much-needed return to form provided a silver lining.
The ace had been dreadful in his last eight starts, recording a 6.80 ERA over 41 innings. Fried, signed to a record-breaking deal over the winter, had previously posted a 1.92 ERA over his first 17 starts with the Yankees, but command over his seven-pitch arsenal eluded him throughout his skid.
The Yankees had trouble identifying exactly why Fried lacked control — they’ve repeatedly said a pre-All-Star break blister hasn’t been an issue since healing weeks ago — but a lack of first-pitch strikes and misplaced curveballs didn’t do the pitcher any favors throughout his scuffles.
Prior to Friday’s game, Blake said that Fried had been too dependent on his cutter, his most-used pitch, “to a certain extent.” Fried had used the pitch at a 31.1% clip, but its usage dropped to 16% on Friday.
“Maybe a little bit,” Fried said when asked if teams had been hunting his cutter. “Definitely, it’s a pitch that I’ve been using and had success with. But I just wanted to be able to use both sides of the plate and be able to change speeds. That’s what I do really well.”
Fried used his sinker, typically his third-most used pitch, the most on Friday, throwing it 23% of the time.
“Rebalancing the arsenal a little bit would probably go a long way for him,” Blake said pregame, offering a hint of what was to come.
Alas, Fried’s first strong start in a while couldn’t last all night, and the Yankees had to turn the game over to their inconsistent bullpen in the seventh. That’s when Mark Leiter Jr. surrendered back-to-back doubles to Nathaniel Lowe and Connor Wong, resulting in the only run of the game.
The Yankees’ offense also spoiled Fried’s recalibration, mustering just three hits and a walk over seven innings against Red Sox starter Brayan Bello. The righty has dominated the Bombers in two starts this season, refusing to allow a run over 14 frames.
“It felt like he had his best stuff tonight,” Ben Rice said. “Stuff was moving well, just getting away from the barrel.”
The Yankees also ran themselves out of an opportunity in the sixth inning, as Austin Wells was doubled up after wandering too far off first base on a Trent Grisham liner to short.
“Can’t get doubled off there,” Boone said, repeating words he’s used far too often over the last two months. “It’s one thing, a bullet to like the second basemen or something where you flinch and they grab you, but across the diamond like that? Even if you flinch at it, you gotta know to sit down. That’s one that we need back.”
The Yankees had another mistake in the ninth inning, as Anthony Volpe passed up a routine out at first base and instead tried to throw behind Jarren Duran for a tag play at second base after Ceddanne Rafaela hit a grounder to the shortstop. No outs were recorded on the play.
While the blunder didn’t come back to bite the Yankees — Volpe ultimately threw Duran out at home plate — Boone defended the play.
“It’s obviously not the right play, but it’s a little bit of a heady play too,” Boone said. “I mean, are we going to really dive into that one a lot? I mean, I get it, he wasn’t out, but it’s kind of a heads up [play], almost got a guy napping.”
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