New Yankee Ace Max Fried threw 7 innings of 5-hit, shutout ball, striking out 11 and walking none, to outduel Jack Flaherty and beat the Tigers 4-3 on a Freezing Wednesday afternoon in Detroit — game time temps in the 30’s.
The game was a 0-0 tie when Flaherty left in the 6th, and in the 7th Ben Rice hit a 2-run Homer off lefty reliever Tyler Holton to put the Yanks on top 2-0.
Aaron Judge knocked in 2 insurance runs in the top of the 9th with a bases-loaded single which proved to be huge as new Yankee Ace Reliever Devin Williams bombed in the 9th — coughing up 3 runs and getting yanked with 2 outs and the tying run on 2nd.
Mark Leiter Jr. came in and got the final out — a pop out to 2nd — and give the Yanks and their fans a huge PHEW of relief and a nice win to salvage a game in the 3-game series.
“That was a dominant performance,” said manager Aaron Boone about Max Fried‘s performance. “He’s just got so many ways to beat you out there. So whether it’s slowing you down with the big curveball, the changeup really plays, the fastball that has that cut to it, the sinker, and the sweeper — and it felt like he used everything in his arsenal. In the 7th inning they get the basehit on him, and he kinda reached back for a little extra to finish out the outing. Just a big-time performance.”
On Devin Williams, Boone said: “Close. Walks that hurt him. Just some deep counts. They took some tough at bats against him; laying off some pitches that they needed to, that he usually gets a chase on. I don’t think it’s far off. I thought we saw some velocity in there today when he needed it. It’s just that next level of execution. He’ll get there.”
NY breaks a 3-game losing streak and improves to 7-5; Detroit falls to 7-5.
1. Fried Fantastic
Max Fried threw down. It was as impressive a performance from a Yankee starter as any in the last 10 years — including so many elite performances from Gerrit Cole, although maybe the perfect game by Domingo German would rank higher.
Fried used his wide assortment of tough pitchers to baffle the Tigers — including his 75-MPH curveball intermixed with his 96-MPH four-seam fastball, 91-MPH sinker, 81-MPH changeup, and 80-MPH sweeper.
Fried:
- Allowed a harmless 2-out single in the 1st,
- Struck out the side in the 2nd,
- Allowed a harmless 2-out single in the 3rd,
- Pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 4th
- Allowed a 2-out triple in the 5th before getting a strikeout to end the inning,
- Pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 6th, and
- Allowed a leadoff double in the 7th before getting fly out, strike out, strike out to end his day.
Max Fried has his 6th career 10+ strikeout game ? pic.twitter.com/j6nZI7unNp
— MLB (@MLB) April 9, 2025
2. Flaherty Fantastic Too
Meanwhile Jack Flaherty was throwing down on the other mound — striking out 9 in 5.1 innings of shutout ball.
The 30-year-old Flaherty is back on the Tigers after signing an odd, 2-year contract with them this winter that pays him $25M this year and only $10M in 2026 but he can opt out of that final year after this season. Detroit traded Flaherty to the Dodgers at the trade deadline last summer for Trey Sweeney and prospect Thayron Liranzo — Flaherty then helped the Dodgers to a World Series win.
The Yanks did manage 3 hits and 3 walks against Flaherty. In the 2nd they loaded the bases with 2 outs: a leadoff single by Paul Goldschmidt, a walk by Jazz Chisholm, strikeouts of Anthony Volpe and Jasson Dominguez, a walk by J.C. Escarra — before Oswaldo Cabrera lined out to end the inning.
After that Flaherty retired 7 in a row — pitching a 1-2-3 inning in the 3rd and 4th before Oswaldo Cabrera singled off him in the 5th.
The Yanks chased Flaherty in the 6th — a leadoff walk by Aaron Judge and a 1-out double by Paul Goldschmidt to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out.
But lefty reliever Tyler Holton came in and got Jazz Chisholm Jr. to hit a comebacker — Judge thrown out at home — and then strike out Anthony Volpe to end the threat.
3. Rice HR Puts NY Up 2-0 in 7th
But Oswaldo Cabrera knocked a single to left off Holton with 2 outs in the 7th, and lefty-swinging Ben Rice followed with a 419-foot BOMB to center for a 2-0 Yankee lead.
A Ben Rice blast plates the first runs of the game ? pic.twitter.com/MH8pqj8kYZ
— MLB (@MLB) April 9, 2025
4. Weaver a Shutout 8th
Luke Weaver came in for the bottom of the 8th protecting a 2-0 lead. And Weaver was great as usual — allowing a 1-out single to Justyn-Henry Malloy but getting Kerry Carpenter to fly out and striking out Greene.
5. Judge 2-RBI Single for Insurance Runs
The Yanks got 2 HUGE insurance runs in the top of the 9th off reliever John Brebbia, who hit J.C Escarra and Oswaldo Cabrera to begin the inning.
Ben Rice then hit a grounder to 2nd and reached on an error by Colt Keith — and the bases were loaded with nobody out.
Aaron Judge then ripped a single past shortstop for 2 runs and a 4-0 Yankee lead.
Cap comes through ? pic.twitter.com/v8BaNouuav
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 9, 2025
Cody Bellinger walked to load the bases again, still with nobody out — but Goldschmidt hit a comebacker to Brebbia, who fired home to begin a pitcher-to-catcher-to-1st doubleplay, and the slumping Jazz Chisholm struck out to end the inning.
6. Devin Almost Coughs Up Game
In came Devin Williams for an easy wrap up — not a save situation as NY was up 4-0. And he walked Spencer Torkelson to begin the inning. He struck out the next 2 batters so it looked like a wrap.
But with 2 outs, Javier Baez singled to right, and Trey Sweeney worked a walk in an 8-pitch at bat.
Devin Williams then threw a wild pitch scoring a run and making it 4-1. And then he allowed a double to Zach McKinstry, scoring 2 runs and making it 4-3 with the tying run on 2nd.
Boone yanked Williams and brought in Mark Leiter Jr. who got Malloy to fly out to Jazz Chisholm behind 2nd base for the old ballgame. PHEW!
The Boxscore
https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401695081
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