Yankees 4-0 Rays: Max Fried silences bats, scorer breaks the silence

New York Yankees 4-0 Tampa Bay Rays

Max Fried delivered one of the Yankees’ most dominant performances of the season Sunday afternoon at Steinbrenner Field, tossing 7 ²/₃ scoreless innings in a 4-0 win over the Rays. But what could have been a historic outing turned controversial when a scoring change moments before the eighth inning erased his no-hitter retroactively.

Max Fried’s no-hit bid derailed by late scoring change, but Yankees shut out Rays

Max Fried appeared to be working on a no-hit bid as he jogged to the mound for the bottom of the eighth. The scoreboard still showed zeros in the hit column for Tampa Bay — until the official scorer, Bill Mathews, announced a revision. Chandler Simpson, who reached in the sixth on a grounder Paul Goldschmidt mishandled at first base, was now being credited with a hit rather than Goldschmidt’s second error of the day.

The call sparked confusion and frustration in the ballpark. Though Simpson’s speed made it a close play, the initial ruling had been an error. Mathews later explained it was “very apparent” Simpson would have beaten the play even if fielded cleanly.

The controversy intensified because the announcement came nearly two innings after the play occurred, as Fried stood on the verge of entering the eighth with a potential no-hitter. The timing, optics, and impact on pitch count added unnecessary tension — and brought an unusual amount of attention to the scorer’s booth.

Still, Fried remained composed. His no-hitter ended officially a few minutes later when Jake Mangum lined a clean single to center to open the eighth. The crowd of 10,046 rose to its feet with a standing ovation, recognizing Fried’s brilliance regardless of the stat sheet.

Fried exited after 102 pitches, allowing two hits, two walks, and striking out two. The scoring change and Mangum’s single might have saved the Yankees from a tough decision — whether to let Fried chase history or protect his arm, given his previous season high was just 98 pitches and his career high is 110. With Aaron Boone ejected earlier in the eighth, it would’ve been bench coach Brad Ausmus making the call.

The ejection added another layer to a chaotic eighth. Boone was tossed after arguing a sequence involving Aaron Judge — who appeared to crush a home run down the left-field line that was ruled foul and upheld on replay. Judge then struck out looking on a borderline pitch, prompting Boone to storm out of the dugout and get thrown out.

Despite the drama, the Yankees did plenty right. Fried’s outing was backed by strong defense, notably from Jazz Chisholm Jr., who made a diving catch on a blooper in the seventh to preserve the no-hit bid at the time. Fried also helped his own cause in the third, beating Simpson to the bag on a similar infield roller.

Offensively, the Yankees got a spark from Trent Grisham, who led off the game with a home run — his sixth of the season — after being moved to the leadoff spot. Cody Bellinger added a solo shot in the sixth, his first since March 29, and drove in another run on a fielder’s choice in the third. Austin Wells capped the scoring with a solo homer in the eighth.

Oswaldo Cabrera’s two errors threatened to extend innings early, but Fried worked around the miscues. After Cabrera’s errant throw in the fourth, Fried picked off Christopher Morel at second, erasing the threat.

Fernando Cruz came on in relief, recording the final out of the eighth and navigating some trouble in the ninth after two walks. He ultimately induced a game-ending double play to earn his second career save — both in the past week.

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Up next

With the series win over Tampa Bay secured — three games to one — the Yankees improved to 14-8 and continued their strong April. They now hit the road for a three-game set against the Guardians in Cleveland. Clarke Schmidt, making his second start since returning from the IL, will get the ball Monday night against right-hander Gavin Williams. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. ET.