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Pirates rookie Bubba Chandler entered this game with a 4.77 ERA and the highest walk rate (13.1-percent) of any starter in baseball. Of course, that means the Yankees got blanked and drew just one walk in his 6.1 innings of work. Fortunately, Max Fried was even more dominant in his first start back from injury in over two months, the two starters trading zeroes long enough for the Yankees to strike against the Bucs’ bullpen. A Jasson Domínguez RBI double and Anthony Volpe RBI single in the seventh proved the decisive blows as the Yankees did just enough to win, 2-0, to split the doubleheader and win the series.
Fans of sharp defensive execution were in for a treat in the first inning. Fried looked to have given up a surefire double down the line in left to leadoff batter Nick Gonzales, but Cody Bellinger played the carom off the sidewall perfectly and fired an inch-perfect throw to Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second, who barely had to move his glove to apply the tag to Gonzales’ foot. The next batter Jared Triolo got down a decent bunt to the left, but the four-time Gold Glover Fried was quick off his mound to field it and fire a strike to first. Fried finished the inning with a swinging strikeout of Bryan Reynolds on an elevated 98.3 mph four-seamer, his fastest pitch of the season. That high water mark wouldn’t last long, as the next inning he punched out Marcell Ozuna looking on a 99 mph four-seamer.
Perhaps a side effect of Fried being on a pitch count of just 60 pitches — the amount planned for a second rehab start that got scrapped in lieu of him starting this game — Fried’s fastball was coming out hot the whole outing. It averaged over 96 mph this afternoon, which is almost two mph above his season average. It is particularly encouraging given that the bone bruise Fried suffered manifested itself as significantly reduced pitch velocity in the May 13th start against the Orioles that he was forced to depart after three innings. That’s a roundabout way of saying that Fried now appears fully healthy.
Fried’s day was finished after five scoreless innings allowing just one hit and one walk with seven strikeouts on 57 pitches, efficiently using nearly all of those 60 pitches he was allotted for this start. The four-seamer was as good as I’ve seen from him in pinstripes, and it wasn’t just the velocity. He was able to consistently paint the top ledge of the zone with the pitch, creating ample opportunity for chase and swing-and-miss against the secondaries which resulted in a 37-percent whiff rate on the day.
It’s almost a miracle that Fried managed to be this untouchable after such a long layoff, and very much needed considering how anemic the offense was while he was in the game. They managed just two hits and a walk off Chandler, for the most part unable to catch up to his high octane heater. What’s more, the faultless defense would only last until the seventh inning with Anthony Volpe at the heart of a pair of blunders. He double clutched on a sharp grounder from Jared Triolo resulting in a late throw and safe call at first. He then completely whiffed a throw from Ali Sánchez to second on a steal attempt by Triolo, the ball rolling into center field and Triolo advancing to third. However, Paul Blackburn continued his stellar streak of relief appearances by striking out Ryan O’Hearn and Ozuna to strand runners on the corners.
Volpe had a chance to make up for these stumbles in the bottom half of the frame and he certainly did that. It started with Bellinger drawing a one-out walk against lefty reliever Brandon Eisert, just out of the Pirates’ bullpen in relief of Chandler. Jasson Domínguez then roped a double down the line in left that got deadened underneath the padding in the corner just long enough to allow Bellinger to score all the way from first. Like Domínguez, Volpe wasted no time ambushing Eisert, jumping on a first-pitch hanging slider and lining it to center to score the flying Domínguez from second and make it 2-0, Yankees.
Proper credit has to be paid to the Yankees’ relievers, the bullpen seriously short on arms after pitching their second doubleheader in three days. Angel Chivilli continued his faultless stretch since his most recent call-up by pitching a scoreless sixth. Blackburn’s legend as the new bullpen ace grew with another scoreless two innings and three strikeouts. Will Warren was called upon for the ninth to make his first relief appearance since the utter disaster of the six runs he surrendered in Game 2 of the 2025 ALDS against the Blue Jays. He recorded a pair of outs but gave up a single to Gonzales and walked Esmerlyn Valdez, and thankfully Tim Hill was able to mop up by inducing the game-ending ground out from O’Hearn.
Exceptional pitching continues to keep the Yankees in games as their offense sputters in a low gear, Fried providing an immeasurable upgrade from the rotation to catalyze the doubleheader split and series win. The Yankees have tomorrow off before traveling to Philadelphia for a three-game set. Warren is slated to start the series opener (though we’ll see how this relief appearance affects things) against Jesús Luzardo. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. EST with the broadcast moving to Apple TV.
