NEW YORK — On Friday night, Max Fried demonstrated his pitching prowess by combining with two relievers to orchestrate a one-hit shutout, helping the New York Yankees secure a 3-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. Fried’s performance marked him as the first six-game winner in the majors this season.
Aaron Judge made significant contributions to the Yankees’ offense by hitting his second triple of the season and doubling in the sixth inning. This set the stage for Paul Goldschmidt’s powerful three-run homer, elevating his average to a major league-leading .430 and extending his on-base streak to an impressive 28 games.
Fried experienced a near-perfect game, with José Caballero breaking the streak with a clean single in the fifth inning. Fried, now 6-0, skillfully struck out six batters, walked two, and induced 10 groundball outs, thereby lowering his AL-leading ERA to 1.01 during his third scoreless start of the season. Notably, Fried boasts a 4-0 record with a 0.00 ERA following Yankees losses, thus significantly contributing to their current 7-0 record in games he has started.
Paul Goldschmidt made headlines with his third home run of the season, occurring in the fifth inning following the entrance of left-hander Mason Montgomery, who relieved Ryan Pepiot. Meanwhile, Devin Williams impressed with eight perfectly pitched innings in his third consecutive hitless appearance since his removal as New York’s closer. Luke Weaver added to the victory by striking out two batters during his flawless ninth inning, earning his third save.
The Yankees’ pitching has been exceptionally effective against the Rays this season, delivering all three of their shutouts against this team. Tampa Bay has now suffered four consecutive defeats, during which they scored just three total runs and have been shut out five times.
Goldschmidt not only made an impact with his power hitting but also elevated his batting average to .361, second only to Judge in the majors. Remarkably, he is leading with a .586 average (17 for 29) when facing left-handed pitchers.
For the opposing team, Pepiot completed a challenging game, surrendering two runs and five hits over a season-low 4 1/3 innings.
A key moment during the game occurred when Montgomery fanned Ben Rice with five consecutive sliders before opting for a fastball against Goldschmidt, resulting in a homer to right-field.
Fried’s strategic gameplay was further highlighted by picking off Christopher Morel in the second inning, boosting his total to a major league-best 32 pickoffs since 2017.
Looking ahead, the Rays will send Zack Littell (1-5, 5.03 ERA) to the mound to challenge Yankee’s Clarke Schmidt (0-1, 5.52) on Saturday.