Seven innings, 88 pitches, one long overdue win
April 27. That was the last time Max Fried had a win next to his name. He collected the next one overnight in Minneapolis, and the Yankees will take the manner of it as much as the result.
Fried gave up a single run across seven innings and needed only 88 pitches to do it, his longest outing in nearly five months, as New York beat the Minnesota Twins 8-1. He moves to 5-4, a record that says almost nothing about how he has thrown since the All-Star break: a 1.83 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 44 and a third innings over nine starts.
The gap between wins was medical, not mechanical. A bone bruise in his elbow cost him 71 games across two stints on the injured list. The Yankees clinched at least a wild-card berth on Monday and now need him to look exactly like this in October.
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Bellinger and Jones do the damage
Ben Rice opened the game with a single off Bailey Ober and Cody Bellinger followed with a two-run drive, his 16th of the season. Bellinger finished with three hits and a walk and is now hitting .377 over his last 17 games, 26 hits in 69 at-bats.
Spencer Jones put the game away in the sixth with a three-run shot off Taylor Rogers, his 10th. Every run in that inning went down as unearned after rookie shortstop Kaelen Culpepper booted a ball behind Rogers.
New York piled up 14 hits without Aaron Judge, rested for the night as he works back into shape following a broken rib. The Yankees now have eleven players in double figures for home runs this season, which is the kind of number that explains why a night off for the best hitter in the lineup barely registered.
Still chasing Tampa Bay
At 88-63 the Yankees stay three and a half games behind Tampa Bay, who sit at 91-59 atop the American League East. The division is not gone, but it needs help.
Minnesota drop to 70-81 and are 7-16 across their last 23 games. Culpepper’s night ended early with tightness in his left hamstring. Carlos Rodon takes the ball for New York on Wednesday afternoon against Zebby Matthews.
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