The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox again Friday night, but manager Aaron Boone still managed to find a silver lining.
Boone praised ace starter Max Fried after he tossed his best outing in weeks in New York’s 1-0 loss to Boston that pushed it back into the second wild card in the American League.
Fried tossed six scoreless innings and struck out seven while giving up four hits and walking three, lowering his ERA to 3.14. Unfortunately, it didn’t help the Yankees from falling to 1-7 against the Red Sox this season.
Why Was Aaron Boone Positive About Max Fried’s Outing?
Fried has been a completely different pitcher in the second half and not in a good way. The All-Star left-hander was a Cy Young candidate in the first half, and still leads the AL in wins (13), but is just 2-2 and has pitched to a 5.94 ERA over the past two months.
Fried is coming off perhaps his worst outing of the season, last Saturday in St. Louis, when he surrendered seven runs, eight hits and two homers in five innings, despite picking up a win over the Cardinals. The Yankees are just 4-8 in Fried’s starts since June 15.
So the fact Fried threw 16 first-pitch strikes against 24 hitters, and had 63 strikes on 99 pitches and handled the Red Sox offense, which is fourth in the majors in runs scored, was a good sign to Boone.
“Really good,” Boone said of Fried’s outing. “I felt every [pitch] was a factor for him tonight, which was good to see. His entire arsenal played a role for him tonight.”
Yet, Boone was heartened by the fact Fried persevered through the battles against Boston’s offense. In a playoff-style outing, in front of a sellout crowd of 46,064, Fried induced the Red Sox to go 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position.
“They made him work, he still had a few walks [and] some longer battles,” Boone said. “[He] had swing and miss, and the hits they got against him were all soft contact. They didn’t really barrel anything up against him, and I think that’s a tribute to how good his stuff was.”
Why Can’t The Yankees Beat The Red Sox?
Fried’s outing was good enough to beat the Red Sox on Friday, but Boston starter Brayan Bello matched him pitch for pitch for the second time this season — and the Red Sox beat the Yankees’ suddenly suspect bullpen.
Bello allowed just three hits and one walk in seven innings and did not allow a Yankees batter to get past first base. He improved to 10-6 this year and is 2-0 against the Yankees and has not allowed a run in 14 innings.
New York’s .360 OPS against Bello is his best mark against any opponent this season.
Bello’s pitching against the Yankees has continued a worrying trend for Yankees fans against the Red Sox. New York is averaging five runs per game this season but has scored just seven runs in its past five games against Boston and is averaging just 3.75 runs per game in its eight head to heads.
Things won’t expect to get easier Saturday with Boston ace Garret Crochet on the hill.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Yankees’ Aaron Boone Sends Positive Message on Max Fried Despite Brutal Loss to Red Sox appeared first on Heavy Sports.