Former Braves All-Star Struggles in Yankees Debut

The bats more than made up for it, but the former Atlanta Braves lefty didn't have the best of debuts for the New York Yankees

The former Braves pitcher didn't have the most memorable debut | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Former Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Max Fried made his regular season debut for the New York Yankees on Saturday. Suffice it to say he had an on-brand rough start to the season. 

After a mostly smooth first inning, Milwaukee Brewers bats started to put him to work - and his defense did him no favors either. Fried allowed six runs, though two were earned, on seven hits and two walks. He struck four as well. The former Braves needed 94 pitches to get through 4 2/3 innings pitched. 

He made it deeper than he did in his season debut for the Braves last season. In that outing, he was ran out of the game after 2/3 innings pitched and three earned runs allowed on two hits and three walks. 

To reiterate, the defense did him no favors. The Yankees committed five errors in the game. Three happened with Fried on the mound. 

The Yankees at least made up for it with a historic day offensively. They belted nine home runs, a team record for a game. Three of them came on the first three pitches of the day, which is an MLB record, and four in total came in the first inning. Fried had a nice lead before even throwing a pitch. They went on to win 20-9.

Fried departed from the Braves in free agency over the offseason. He was considered one of the top free agents on the market. He declined a qualifying offer and ultimately signed with the Yankees for eight years, $218 million in December. 

In 168 appearances with the Braves, 151 of those being starts, he has a 3.07 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP and 863 strikeouts. He’s made two all-star games, won three Gold Gloves and has received Cy Young Award votes twice. He was the runner-up to Miami Marlins starter Sandy Alcántara for the Cy Young in 2022.