Yankees’ Winning Streak Snaps as Freed Struggles
The New York Yankees’ five-game winning streak came to an unexpected halt on Saturday with a disappointing 5-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs. I was a bit anxious about Max Fried’s performance.
The Yankees faced a tough outing against Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd, who effectively shut down their lineup. Fried, however, was forced to exit the game after just three innings due to blisters on his left index finger, which, honestly, isn’t great news.
Although Fried was named an All-Star, he was replaced on the roster by Carlos Rodon due to several factors. In those three innings, Fried gave up four runs (three earned) and needed 73 pitches to get through the inning.
It was glaringly evident that the backup pitching wasn’t as effective as Fried usually is.
Boyd, a lefty, dominated for eight scoreless innings against a Yankees lineup that had been scoring impressively, racking up 88 runs over their previous 12 games.
After Boyd, Brad Keller took the mound, creating a bit of tension in the ninth inning. He allowed a two-run homer from Aaron Judge, which was exciting but didn’t change the outcome.
Keller struck out Giancarlo Stanton but was then replaced by Daniel Palencia, who managed to secure the final two outs with some finesse.
As for Fried, this marked one of his roughest outings since he signed a whopping seven-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees. With the All-Star break on the horizon, the Yankees might need to rethink their approach. Fried has previously dealt with blisters on his pitching hand across four seasons with Atlanta, the latest instance being last year.
The Yankees’ rotation is already feeling the pressure, having lost Gerrit Cole and Clark Schmidt to Tommy John surgeries. Meanwhile, Lewis Gill is sidelined due to arm tension and Ryan Yabra, who was a spring training injury replacement, is also on the injured list. Extended absences, especially for Fried, could be really challenging.
Freed’s command wavered from the get-go on Saturday, including walking three batters. This was now his third consecutive start where he seemed less than stellar after an impressive start in the Bronx earlier in the season.
Over these outings, he has surrendered 10 runs in 14 innings, causing his ERA to rise from 1.89 to 2.43 over five starts.
Nico Horner faced Fried, landing a triple to left center, while Kyle Tucker’s slow roller knocked him in, marking the first score of the game in the first inning after a challenging 28-pitch outing.
Fried again encountered trouble in the third inning, starting with a leadoff single by Tucker and then a double from Seiya Suzuki. With runners on second and third, Carson Kelly made an infield single, extending the score to 2-0.
Following a strong hit from Pete Crow-Armstrong, Fried faced Danceby Swanson but the Yankees couldn’t turn a double play, allowing Suzuki to score and elevate the lead to 3-0.
The errors didn’t help; a throw from Jazz Chisholm Jr. to first went awry, allowing Swanson to move to second.
Fried managed to finish the inning before handing the ball over to Ian Hamilton.
Meanwhile, Boyd was cruising. He brought a 2.52 ERA into the game and had a strong track record, with a 1.49 ERA in his previous eight starts. Boyd limited the Yankees to just four hits over eight innings.
