New York Yankees 4-3 Detroit Tigers
The Yankees avoided a sweep in Detroit, but not without a late scare that nearly erased Max Fried’s brilliant outing. New York held on for a 4-3 win over the Tigers on Wednesday afternoon, leaning heavily on Fried’s dominance and surviving a shaky ninth inning that forced Aaron Boone to call for a second closer.
Max Fried shines, Devin Williams stumbles, but Bombers escape Detroit with a win
Fried, making his third start as a Yankee, delivered exactly what the team needed. The left-hander blanked Detroit across seven innings, striking out 11 batters while allowing just five hits and no walks. It was tied for the second-most strikeouts in a game in his career and the kind of performance that showed why New York invested heavily in him this offseason, especially with Gerrit Cole out long-term following Tommy John surgery.
For most of the afternoon, it was a duel between former high school teammates. Fried and Jack Flaherty, who once pitched side by side at Harvard-Westlake in Los Angeles, traded zeros early. Flaherty struck out nine Yankees over 5.1 innings, allowing only three hits and three walks. His ability to limit damage kept Detroit in the game even as their offense struggled to figure out Fried.
The Tigers’ first real threat came in the bottom of the fifth, when Zach McKinstry lined a ball down the left field line. Jasson Dominguez mishandled the carom, and McKinstry raced to third with a one-out triple. Fried stayed composed and struck out the next batter to end the inning.
The Yankees threatened in the sixth, when Aaron Judge drew a walk and Paul Goldschmidt followed with a double. That knocked Flaherty out of the game, and reliever Tyler Holton entered to face Jazz Chisholm Jr. Chisholm bounced one right back to the mound, and Holton caught Judge in a rundown before striking out Anthony Volpe to escape trouble.
New York finally broke through in the seventh. After two quick outs, Oswaldo Cabrera singled, bringing up rookie catcher Ben Rice. Rice got a pitch over the heart of the plate and didn’t miss it, launching a two-run homer to right-center that cleared the top of the double wall. It was Rice’s second home run of the season and continued his encouraging start to the year.
Fried returned for the seventh and worked around a leadoff double from Dillon Dingler. He induced a flyout and struck out the next two batters, finishing his day with 11 K’s and reinforcing his status as the Yankees’ de facto ace. It was the kind of commanding, high-leverage start the rotation desperately needed after shaky outings from Carlos Rodón and Carlos Carrasco earlier in the series.
Luke Weaver handled the eighth with minimal drama, preserving the 2-0 lead and setting up what should have been a low-stress save opportunity for Devin Williams. But the Yankees’ closer continues to struggle in the early part of the season.
Before the ninth, the Yankees tacked on two more runs, thanks in large part to Detroit’s miscues. The Tigers committed two errors and allowed two hit-by-pitches, loading the bases with one out. After catcher Dillon Dingler dropped two foul popups, Aaron Judge made the Tigers pay by lacing a single up the middle to plate two runs, giving the Yankees what felt like a comfortable 4-0 cushion.
That margin proved to be barely enough.
Williams walked the first batter he faced and then struck out two, seemingly settling in. But Javier Báez kept Detroit alive with a single, and a walk to Trey Sweeney loaded the bases. A wild pitch brought in one run, and McKinstry followed with a two-run single. Judge’s throw home sailed high, allowing McKinstry to advance into scoring position as the tying run.
With the tension rising and Williams at 33 pitches, Boone made the switch to Mark Leiter Jr. The right-hander, who had been shaky earlier this month, needed just two pitches to seal the win. Justyn-Henry Malloy popped up to shallow center, where Chisholm made the catch to finally end the game.
Despite the final-inning chaos, the Yankees held on and avoided what would’ve been a gut-punch of a sweep. The win moved them to 6-4 on the season and gave them a chance to reset before returning home.
Yankees roster
| hitters | H-AB | R | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B. RiceDH | 1-5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .306 |
| A. JudgeRF | 2-4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .354 |
| C. BellingerCF-LF | 0-4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .206 |
| P. Goldschmidt1B | 2-5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .383 |
| J. Chisholm Jr.2B | 0-4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .180 |
| A. VolpeSS | 0-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .234 |
| J. DominguezLF | 0-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .205 |
| T. GrishamCF | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .367 |
| J.C. EscarraC | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .125 |
| P. ReyesPR | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| A. WellsC | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .189 |
| O. Cabrera3B | 2-3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .308 |
| pitchers | IP | H | ER | BB | K | PC-ST | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Fried | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 97-66 | 1.56 |
| L. Weaver | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12-8 | 0.00 |
| D. Williams | 0.2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 33-18 | 12.00 |
| M. Leiter Jr. | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2-1 | 5.79 |
Up next
Now, New York will enjoy a much-needed off-day Thursday before opening a three-game series at Yankee Stadium against the San Francisco Giants. Marcus Stroman is scheduled to make the start Friday night, facing off against former AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. ET.
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