Jul 22, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried (54) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
Two months away because of an elbow injury did little to dull the edge of Yankees ace Max Fried, who looked as good as ever in his return on Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The veteran southpaw went five scoreless innings, allowing one hit with seven strikeouts and one walk — doing so on just 57 pitches as he continues his ramp-up to a full workload.
“He looked great, obviously. I thought, frankly, it’s as good as he’s looked all year in any of his other starts,” manager Aaron Boone said. “You kind of hope he can get you through three innings, maybe 10 outs, whatever. To be that efficient to go five shutout for us was really sharp, from the jump. Had some swing-and-miss going. He was dealing. That was great to see. It’s indicative of how it’s been going for him the last month-plus as he’s returned. It’s gone well, and he continued to show that tonight, in a huge outing for us.”
Wednesday night’s return for Fried came as a surprise. On Tuesday morning, Boone told the “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast that Fried was going to throw 60 pitches in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before re-joining the big-league team early next week during its trip to Chicago to play the White Sox.
But a rainout on Tuesday prompted the Yankees to change course, and when Boone approached Fried about returning, it was a no-brainer.
“This is my favorite thing to do,” Fried said. “Being out for the last couple of months, that was really tough. Coming out, giving us a chance to win, and getting back out there and feeling the energy, it felt normal, and I’m happy about that.”
For the first time this season, the Yankees have a healthy top three in Fried, Gerrit Cole, and Cy Young-favorite Cam Schlittler. Cole, who started Game 1 of Wednesday’s doubleheader, returned from Tommy John surgery as Fried hit the IL
“It’s something that I’ve been looking forward to for a while now,” Fried said of joining forces with Cole. “Kind of sucks that I got hurt when I did to delay that, but better late than never.”
