Baltimore – Yankees Find Relief with Max on the Mound
The Yankees finally turned their fortunes around with a standout performance on their trip. Max showed up, and boy, did he deliver.
The lefty arrived in the city a day earlier than his teammates, ready to make an impact. In one of their best displays this season, he led the team to a convincing 7-0 victory over the Orioles at Camden Yards.
Freed tied a career-high by hitting 13 batters, dominating the Orioles over seven shutout innings. Remarkably, he only allowed three singles throughout the game, while generating a season-high 28 swings and misses from an aggressive Orioles lineup that took 45 swings against him.
He showcased his versatility, recording strikeouts on five different pitches, but it was his changeup that really stood out, resulting in eight misses out of ten swings.
With this win, the Yankees (86-67) gained a game on the Blue Jays for the second consecutive day. They also solidified their position in the wild card race, holding a 1½-game lead over both the Mariners and Astros, as well as the Red Sox.
The Orioles (72-81) came into Thursday evening having battled at the bottom of the AL East, but they had managed to win 12 of their last 17 games.
Despite their recent success, they couldn’t seem to match Fried’s performance, likely making this his next-to-last start before the playoffs. He has been redeeming himself with a 1.60 ERA in his last six outings, returning to form just as the Yankees gear up for October.
During a grueling 10-day, 10-game road trip, the Yankees faced a late night of travel on Monday, hopping from Boston to Minneapolis and then off to play the Twins, all while trying to recover from fatigue.
They wasted no time getting on the board early, scoring two runs in the first inning against Orioles left-hander Kade Povich to ensure they wouldn’t face a repeat of past struggles. Paul Goldschmidt hit a single, and Cody Bellinger drew a tough eight-pitch walk before Amed Rosario sent a two-run double into the left-field corner.
Anthony Volpe added another run in the fifth inning with his hustle. He managed a double and quickly stole third base before scoring off a single from Austin Wells.
The best chance for the Orioles against Fried came in the sixth when two singles put runners on the corners with two outs. But Fried struck out Tyler O’Neill with a fastball clocked at 99 mph to extinguish the threat.
As the game progressed, the Yankees powered through the last two innings, adding four runs against reliever Chice McDermott. Goldschmidt contributed an RBI single, Aaron Judge lifted a sacrifice fly, and Giancarlo Stanton added two runs with a powerful shot into left field, sealing the 7-0 win.
Paul Blackburn took over in relief, tossing two hitless innings to wrap things up, giving the Yankees’ bullpen a much-deserved night off.
However, not everything went smoothly. The Yankees faced some issues with base running, as both Jose Caballero and Jazz Chisholm Jr. found themselves caught between bases after stealing.
