Max Fried pitches well in tough-luck loss Thursday

Fried scattered three hits over 6 1/3 innings against his former team on Friday while striking out seven batters. While fantasy managers won’t be disappointed in the production, Fried received no run support while on the mound, exiting in the seventh inning with the game stuck in a scoreless tie. We’re still waiting on Fried’s fifth win of the season, as he hasn’t picked up a win since April 27th against the Rangers. Fried has allowed just four earned runs over his last 19 2/3 innings of work and is next scheduled to start on Wednesday at home against the Mariners.

Fried departed with a one-run lead, but since it didn’t hold up, he’s still winless in three starts since coming off the IL. In fact, he’s gone winless in six straight starts overall. The only other time he went more than four straight starts without a win was in 2024, when he went 0-4 with a 4.89 ERA in a seven-start stretch for Atlanta. That one also took place around an injury; he missed three starts in the middle of it with a forearm issue. Speaking of Atlanta, Fried will face his old team at home next time out, probably on Friday.

Fried gave up five hits, walked two and struck out four. After throwing five scoreless innings in his return start against the Pirates last week, this start was a bit of a clunker. Fried allowed three runs in the first inning before holding the White Sox scoreless for the next two innings. Having thrown 66 pitches, Fried didn’t even start the fourth inning. He should be able to throw a few more pitches in his next start against the Cubs on the road on Saturday.

Working on a limit of about 60 pitches in his return from a bone bruise in his elbow, Fried got through five in 57, 37 of which were strikes, and averaged 96.2 mph with his fastball, which was 1.5 mph better than his season average. He left a scoreless game, so there was no win to be had. However, it was an awfully encouraging showing. He’ll get the White Sox next.

Fried returns to New York’s rotation for the nightcap of Wednesday’s twin bill against the Pirates following a 10-week absence due to a bone bruise in his elbow. The 32-year-old fantasy ace posted a strong 3.21 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 50/19 K/BB ratio across 61 2/3 innings prior to hitting the shelf in mid-May. He’s likely to be limited to roughly 60 pitches in his return from the injured list since that was the number he was slated to throw in a minor league rehab start before the Yankees decided to bring him back instead. His return should provide a massive lift for fantasy managers heading into the final two months.

He’s back. Fried is likely be limited to roughly 60 pitches in his return after throwing just 52 in his lone minor league outing last week. The 32-year-old upper-echelon fantasy starter will rejoin New York’s rotation instead of making another rehab start following a 10-week absence recovering from a bone bruise in his left elbow. He was off to a strong start with a 3.21 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 50/19 K/BB ratio across 61 2/3 innings prior to the injury. The Pirates have been unexpectedly hot the last few weeks, but it’s a decent landing spot right out of the gate.

The plan is for Fried to throw 60 pitches in a rehab appearance Triple-A on Tuesday. Assuming he responds well to that outing, his next start will come with the Yankees. The left-hander has been sidelined with a bone bruise since late May, so the Yankees will be excited to have him back in the fold.

The 32-year-old southpaw allowed two runs on five hits over his three frames while striking out three batters. He threw 32 of his 52 pitches for strikes in the contest and did not walk a batter. He’s likely to require at least one additional rehab start, but if all goes well his next time out he could then be cleared to return to the Yankees’ rotation.

Fried has been sidelined with a bone bruise on the back of his elbow since the middle of May. We know he threw 35 pitches in his last bullpen session, so he may be on a pitch count of around 40-50 pitches in this first outing. There’s a chance that he may only need two or three starts before returning to the Yankees, which means he could be back in New York before the end of July.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said last weekend that Fried would be cleared for a rehab start after facing hitters one final time. The 32-year-old fantasy ace is working his way back from a bone bruise in his elbow that put him on the injured list back in mid-May. It seems reasonable to anticipate Fried rejoining New York’s rotation mix sometime before the end of July.