Aaron Boone gets real on Max Fried pitching for Yankees

In the absence of Gerrit Cole, Max Fried has taken the mantle of leading the New York Yankees rotation and has helped the team get wins almost every time he starts. Fried, who signed an eight-year, $218 million deal in the offseason, was on point in Friday’s 3-0 win against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Fried pitched seven shutout innings, allowing only one hit and two walks while striking out six. He took home a win, improving his 2025 numbers as his ERA dropped to 1.01 after seven starts, where he went 6-0.

After the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was all praise for the highest-paid southpaw in the MLB.

“Obviously, you always feel good when you’re handing the ball to Max,” Boone told reporters. “He’s off to an outstanding start, of course, and you feel like any time he goes out there, we have a really good chance of winning a ballgame.”

Max Fried’s American League-best 1.01 ERA is only bettered by Los Angeles Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who boasts a 0.90 ERA with a 4-2 record after seven starts.

Max Fried and Paul Goldschmidt give Yankees series opener win vs Rays

The Yankees won the series opener against the Rays, 3-0, thanks in large part to Max Fried’s solid pitching and Paul Goldschmidt’s third home run of the season.

All three of the Yankees’ runs on the night came off Goldschmidt’s bat, who hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning off Rays reliever Mason Montgomery. After connecting on a 98.6 mph fastball for the home run, Goldschmidt said:

“I don’t know what pitch he’s going to throw, so I’m just trying to be ready to hit. I know he throws hard, 100-plus miles an hour. So honestly for me, I was just trying to stay short to the ball, not try to do too much. Fortunately, I was able to get it out of there.”

After Fried finished his seven shutout innings, Devin Williams and Luke Weaver came in relief to pitch the final two innings and earn the victory.

After the game, Fried also sang praises of the veteran hitter, whose hit proved to be the difference in the game.

“It’s way better to be on his team than playing against him, that’s for sure,” Fried said. “He’s always just a professional at-bat, no matter what his numbers are, whatever day of the week. You know when he comes up to the plate, he’s going to give you his best and you can’t take any pitches off.”

With the win, the Yankees improved to 19-13 while the Rays dropped to 14-18.