Yankees unbeatable when Max Fried is on the mound

The Yankees are 6-0 in games started by Max Fried and 12-13 when anybody else starts. 

When that split was relayed to Aaron Boone on Wednesday night, after his club dropped a series against the Orioles, the Yankees manager took it as a chance to make a proclamation after the first month of the season.

“We’re going to be really good,” Boone said calmly. “So, not surprising we’re that good when our ace starts and is pitching as well as he is. We got a really good club. We got to keep getting better, and confident we will.”


Fried has been everything the Yankees could have hoped for one month into an eight-year, $218 million deal — especially in the absence of injured Gerrit Cole — pitching to a 1.19 ERA heading into his seventh start of the season Friday against the Rays in The Bronx.

Carlos Rodón has gone to another level over his last three starts, too, giving the look of a strong 1-2 punch of lefties atop the Yankees’ rotation.

Beyond that, the starting staff remains a work in progress without Cole and Luis Gil.

Clarke Schmidt is only three starts into his season after a delayed debut while Will Warren and Carlos Carrasco have been hit or miss in outings that have generally been on the shorter side.

The Yankees are 6-0 in games started by Max Fried. Jason Szenes / New York Post

Because of that, the Yankees’ bullpen has been asked to carry a heavy load so far, with its 116 ¹/₃ innings marking the seventh-most in the majors entering Thursday.

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It has helped that the relief corps has largely been terrific, aside from Devin Williams’ struggles at closer, but in an ideal world, the club’s starters would be able to lighten the relievers’ workload moving forward.

“We just need to be effective,” Boone said after a series bookended by Warren and Carrasco each lasting just 3 ¹/₃ innings — though he indicated they were more aggressive with their bullpen Wednesday because of an off day Thursday.

Fernando Cruz has become a key piece to the Yankees’ bullpen. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Arguably the most encouraging bullpen story through the first month of the season has been Fernando Cruz, who struck out four more batters Wednesday in 1 ²/₃ scoreless innings.

Armed with a nasty splitter, Cruz entered Thursday with 27 strikeouts — the most of any reliever in the majors — in 16 ²/₃ innings to go with a 1.62 ERA.

“Just his demeanor on the mound, his presence, he’s attacking every single hitter,” Aaron Judge said. “When you attack guys like that, that’s when you start to get some of those swings we saw there where they’re kind of in between, almost guessing, ‘Is it the heater? Is it the splitter?’ 

“When you got fastball command like he does and a good feel for that splitter, the action is just insane. He’s going to be a big piece for us now and down the road.”

Williams is two appearances into his demotion from closer, with two scoreless frames to show for it.

The latest came Wednesday night when he pitched the bottom of the seventh with the Yankees trailing 5-4 and kept the Orioles at bay.

“A lot of conviction, aggressive,” Boone said. “Another positive outing for him. Keep building those and stacking those.”