Make New York Post a Preferred Source With their season on the line, the Yankees are giving the ball to Max Fried — no matter what.
Fried’s girlfriend is pregnant and due any day now. Tuesday, Fried said he did not wish to talk about the “personal stuff,” but he acknowledged the exciting development for his family while stating that whatever happens, he will be on the mound.
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“I’ve got a really supportive family that understands that this is my job, and it’s not going to affect what happens [Wednesday],” Fried said over Zoom from Yankee Stadium, where some Yankees worked out on the eve of a must-win Game 3.
Not that he needed further incentive to attempt to make quick work of the Rays.
Perhaps the lefty is better built to neutralize a pesky Tampa Bay lineup than Game 1 starter Gerrit Cole (five innings, one run) or Game 2’s Cam Schlittler (4 ¹/₃ innings, four runs, two earned). Fried, an athlete with the deepest pitch mix on the team, is less strikeout-reliant than his rotation mates. Plus, the Rays owned the sixth-worst OPS against southpaws this season (.678) and the fifth-best mark against righties (.751).
Both Yankees options for the start — Fried and Carlos Rodón — are lefties, and pitching coach Matt Blake said there wasn’t much debate about the arm they preferred first, with Rodón set for Game 4.
Yankees pitcher Max Fried and his girlfriend Reni Meyer-Whalley attend an introductory press conference at Yankee Stadium, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post “Max has been one of our guys, and we want to ride with him here,” Blake said of Fried, who is now fully built up after missing 2 ¹/₂ weeks in August with an elbow bruise and limited the Red Sox to one run on three hits in six innings of Game 2 of the wild-card series.
Fried pitched twice this season — allowing seven runs in 14 ²/₃ innings (4.30 ERA) — against a Rays lineup that offers some of everything except strikeouts.
Their top three can demolish pitches, as Jonathan Aranda demonstrated to Cole. They all make contact, as Liam Hicks and Chandler Simpson, in particular, demonstrated to Schlittler. They will run (3-for-3 in steals) and they will pressure a Yankees defense that looked rattled Monday.
“They do all the little things, and they can also have the big inning,” Fried said. “They’ve got some power.”
So he will not be surprised by the opposing lineup. Or messages that could change his personal life forever. Or manager Aaron Boone walking to the mound early, at the first sign of trouble, in a game in which the Yankees bullpen could be emptied and Cole is expected to be among those available.
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“There’s nothing else to save anything for,” Fried said before his 24th career playoff game. “So for me, I understand that the leash is probably going to be pretty small, and we have to do whatever we can to win.
“For me, it’s just leave everything out there, and we have to win tomorrow’s game.”
