Fastball

New York Yankees Ace in Elite Company Going Into Start Against St. Louis Cardinals

Three-time All-Star Max Fried has put together career numbers seen just twice before in MLB history.
Teren Kowatsch|
New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried throws during a game against the Houston Astros on Aug. 10 at Yankee Stadium.
New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried throws during a game against the Houston Astros on Aug. 10 at Yankee Stadium. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

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New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are in the middle of a crucial late-season playoff push and will attempt to earn their second consecutive series victory against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 2 of the three-game series at 7:10 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Yankees ace Max Fried will get the nod for the potential series-winning game, and he'll enter his start with career numbers seen only twice in MLB history.

The three-time All-Star southpaw will enter Saturday's outing with 175 career starts under his belt, 970 strikeouts in those starts and 118 wins in those outings.

According to a post shared by OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) on "X," Fried is just the third pitcher in the modern era (1901-present) to reach those marks through 175 career starts. The other two are one-time National League All-Star winner Dwight Gooden, and the other is two-time American League Cy Young winner Johan Santana.

Entering Saturday, Fried has a 2.94 ERA with 135 strikeouts in 144 innings pitched across 24 starts. He's on the first year of an eight-year, $218 million contract with New York. And so far he's proven worth the investment.

Fried earned his third career All-Star nod this season and has some of the best advanced metrics in baseball. He has a fastball run value of 14, which ranks in the 95th percentile of baseball, according to Baseball Savant. He has a 6.1% walk-rate, which ranks in the 83rd percentile of baseball.

In his first season in the Bronx, Fried leads the Yankees in ERA among starting pitchers.

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Teren Kowatsch
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