New York Yankees Ace Makes Franchise History with Incredible Start

New York Yankees history has been made by their new ace to start his tenure with the team.

May 2, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Max Fried (54) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

When the New York Yankees were unable to re-sign star outfielder Juan Soto in free agency, the team decided to pivot to focusing on upgrading their pitching and defense.

To accomplish that plan, one of the moves they made was signing starting pitcher Max Fried away from the Atlanta Braves. The two sides agreed to a massive eight-year, $218 million deal, the largest in baseball history for a left-handed pitcher.

Signing that kind of contract brings immense pressure to live up to. It is also challenging to play for the Yankees, something not everyone is cut out to do.

Things were heightened even more for Fried when he assumed the ace role for the team with Gerrit Cole having to undergo Tommy John surgery during spring training.

A two-time All-Star with the Braves before hitting the market, Fried has put himself in a position to not only earn a third trip to the Midsummer Classic but also to be in the mix to start the game for the American League.

He has been as good as New York had hoped he would be, exceeding even the grandest of expectations.

Fried has made seven starts, going 6-0 with a 1.01 ERA, both of which lead the AL. The Yankees are a perfect 7-0 when he takes the mound, putting his team in a position to win the game whenever he takes the ball.

He has been a workhorse for manager Aaron Boone with an MLB-high 44.2 innings pitched entering play on May 3, an added bonus given some of the issues the bullpen has had early in the season.

In his most recent start against the Tampa Bay Rays, Fried fired seven shutout innings with six strikeouts, allowing only one hit and two walks.

That performance capped off a historic three-game stretch for the talented lefty.

As shared by Katie Sharp of Stathead and Sports Reference, he is the only pitcher in franchise history to have three wins, zero earned runs, eight or fewer hits allowed and face 75+ batters in a three-game stretch.

Max Fried #FunFact🚨🚨

Fried is the only pitcher in Yankees history to have a 3-game span with:
✅3 Wins
✅0 ER
✅8 Hits or fewer
✅75+ Batters Faced

— Katie Sharp (@SharpStats17) May 3, 2025

On the season, Fried has been charged with only five earned runs. Winning more games than runs allowed puts him in some rare company as well.

Shared by OptaSTATS on X, he joins Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers as the only other MLB left-handed pitcher to have more victories than earned runs allowed over their first seven starts with a new team since 1913, when earned runs became an official stat in both leagues.

Max Fried in 7 starts with the @Yankees:

6 wins
5 ER allowed

Since earned runs became official in both leagues in 1913, the only other MLB lefty to have more wins than earned runs allowed over his first 7 starts with a team was Fernando Valenzuela with the Dodgers in 1981. pic.twitter.com/ihBvWOOAsd

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) May 3, 2025

The Yankees are surely lucky to have Fried on their staff, given how things unfolded during spring training and over the first month of the regular season.

Fans shudder to think where the team would be without him, as New York is 12-14 when he doesn’t take the mound.