Max Fried threw a gem in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card series against the Boston Red Sox. The New York Yankees ace, who will likely finish in the top-3 of the American League Cy Young voting when all is said and done, threw over six innings of shutout baseball. He struck out six batters and kept the basepaths relatively clean. However, the Yankees could only manage one run, so Aaron Boone had to...over-manage in the seventh inning when Fried surpassed 100 pitches.
This was the best start of Fried's postseason career. His playoff appearances up until this point – all with the Atlanta Braves – left much to be desired despite winning a World Series back in 2021. Fried had a postseason ERA of 5.51 entering Tuesday. That number should drop dramatically thanks to his outing, but won't result in a victory after Boone pulled Fried when he was slated to face the bottom of the Red Sox lineup.
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Why did Aaron Boone pull Max Fried in the first place?
It's tough to get on Boone for pulling Fried in the first place. The Yankees ace was at 102 pitches when Boone made the call to the bullpen. As much as Yankees fans call for Boone's job, he remains just good enough to keep his gig. Where he falls short is bullpen management, especially in big spots. Against a team like Boston, which has had the Yankees number in recent postseasons, he was cautious to a fault and put his team in a bad position.
Boone pulled Fried in favor of Luke Weaver, who struggled mightily in the month of September. Weaver has an ERA over nine since Sept. 1, which is indicative of a pitcher going in the wrong direction, to say the least.
Max Fried deserves better than his Yankees Game 1 fate
Whether the Yankees win or lose is irrelevant for the sake of this article. Fried was pitching rather flawlessly when he was pulled, and could have helped the Yankees get past the seventh inning. Instead, Boone went to a shaky relief pitcher and paid the price.
The Yankees gave Fried a whopping eight-year, $218 million contract this offseason in the hopes he would help put them over the top. While injuries to Gerrit Cole and other starters placed a surprising amount of emphasis on that contract, Fried has more than delivered, and had a chance to flip the script on postseason ghosts that have haunted them for far too long. FanSided's Chris Landers put it best earlier this week:
"Fried will bring that baggage with him into Game 1 on Tuesday night, faced with the task of matching Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet frame for frame — with the knowledge that the loser of this game will suddenly find itself just one more loss away from elimination. Fried has long been among the best pitchers in the sport. If he wants to fully be regarded as such, though, he's going to have to finally bust down the door," Landers wrote.
For all intents and purposes, Fried gave Yankees fans exactly what they wanted and then some. Unfortunately for them, Boone and the bullpen couldn't finish the job – and it could very well cost the Yankees their season.