For the second time in less than two weeks, Max Fried left the Rays dead in the water.
While the lefty didn’t take a no-hit bid into the eighth like he did in Tampa on April 20, Fried held the Yankees’ division rival to just one knock over seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 win on Friday. With the series-opening victory, the Bombers improved to a perfect 7-0 with their new ace on the mound.
Fried, the American League Pitcher of the Month for March/April, is now 6-0 with a 1.01 ERA across 44.2 innings after also walking two and striking out six over 92 pitches against the Rays.
Fried, everything the Yankees could have hoped for and more so far with Gerrit Cole sidelined, wasn’t the only newbie who continued to make a strong first impression on Friday.
Paul Goldschmidt also played a pivotal part in the win, powering the Yankees’ offense with a three-run homer off Mason Montgomery in the fifth inning. The short porch specialty followed a walk to the debuting Jorbit Vivas and a double from Aaron Judge, which knocked Rays starter Ryan Pepiot out of the game.
Goldschmidt’s homer was just his third of the season, but his second in as many games. The veteran first baseman and 2022 MVP has been more of a singles hitter in the early going of his Yankees career, but he’s hitting .361 after going 2-for-4 on Friday.
Judge, the American League Player of the Month, is the only player in baseball with a better average. His is up to .430 following a 2-for-4 night that also included his second triple of the season.
With another Fried-led win locked up, the Yankees will try to even out their record when he doesn’t pitch. The club is 12-13 when others start, but Clarke Schmidt can help make that a .500 mark on Saturday.
Zack Littell hopes to prevent that, as he’s scheduled to start for Tampa Bay.
