NEW YORK -- One month into the season, Max Fried has been everything the Yankees could have asked for when they signed him to an eight-year, $218 million contract back in December.
How dominant has he been? Just ask the Rays.
Twelve days after holding Tampa Bay to two hits over 7 2/3 innings in an extended no-hit bid, Fried was arguably even better against the same lineup Friday night at Yankee Stadium. The left-hander limited the Rays to just one hit -- a clean single by José Caballero in the fifth inning -- and struck out six over seven innings in the Yankees’ 3-0 win at Yankee Stadium.
"Look, he's done it to every team. Certainly with us he's probably been at his best, but he's really good,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Right now, he's able to execute pitches kind of at will.”
Hours after being named the American League Pitcher of the Month, Fried improved to 6-0 with a 1.01 ERA. The Yankees have won all seven of his starts, while going 12-13 when anyone else starts for them. A month into his tenure in the Bronx, Fried’s scorching start has been a rare kind of elite.
Among pitchers to debut with a team since 1913, when earned runs became an official statistic in both leagues, Fried is only the third pitcher to record at least six wins and post an ERA of 1.01 or lower in his first seven starts with a franchise, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The others? Fernando Valenzuela with the Dodgers in 1981 (7-0, 0.29) and Boston’s Dave "Boo" Ferriss in 1945 (7-0, 0.57).
"It's been great so far, but just trying to live in the present,” said Fried, as composed in his postgame interview as he appeared on the mound. “Just get ready for my next one in five days, and that's about it.”
Fried hasn’t made life easy on anybody, allowing two earned runs or fewer in each of his seven starts and one earned run or fewer in five, but he’s been especially tough on the Rays.
Tampa Bay’s hitters have gone 3-for-45 against Fried with only a trio of singles -- and only one of those base hits qualified as hard-hit, according to Statcast. They were held to one hit in Friday’s series opener, their lowest output in a single game since May 29, 2023, when they were one-hit by the Cubs, and their lowest total ever against the Yankees.
"He's mixed well. He's got really good stuff, great pitchability,” Cash said. “Every pitch that he had, he seemed to throw with a lot of conviction where it needed to go.”
Cash said he thought Fried attacked the Rays with a “very similar mix” to what he threw at George M. Steinbrenner Field two weeks ago. And it’s the depth of Fried’s pitch mix -- he throws seven different pitches -- that stands out to his opponents and teammates alike.
"He doesn't have a routine or something that you can pick up. He always changes speed, changes velocity, changes location, changes [the] shape of the ball, everything,” Caballero said. “He's just one of those guys that is really tough to hit. You have to pick a good mistake, and he didn't make many.”
"That's tough as a hitter, because you're trying to figure out what he's going to do, and he does a good job mixing it up, throwing strikes and just being a great pitcher,” added Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who hit the tie-breaking three-run homer off reliever Mason Montgomery in the fifth inning Friday night.
The Rays’ struggles haven’t been limited to their matchups with Fried lately. They’ve fallen to 14-18 after dropping four consecutive games -- their third losing streak of at least four games -- and scored a total of three runs during this skid.
This was the fifth time the Rays have been shut out this season, tied for the most such games in the Majors, and the Yankees have dealt them three of those.
"A lot of frustration. And I get it, because we're all confident that we're better than maybe what we've performed the last four or five games,” Cash said. “But that doesn't make it feel any better. It's going to take one of those big hits to open some things up.”
The Rays have been especially susceptible to left-handed pitchers, as they own the Majors’ second-lowest average (.187) and OPS (.549) against southpaws.
Twice in the last two weeks, they’ve been unfortunate to face a left-hander in Fried who looks as good as any pitcher in baseball right now.
"Just more of what always impresses me, and that's just the different ways he can beat you,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He's just so versatile out there, and it continues to show.”