Yankees Make Disastrous Max Fried Decision in Wild Card Meltdown

The New York Yankees' first Wild Card game featured six strong innings from Max Fried, followed by three strong innings of Max Fried looking increasingly nervous in the dugout.

In the top of the seventh, after 6 1/3 innings and 102 pitches, Yankees starter Fried was replaced by reliever Luke Weaver, who promptly gave up two runs to the Boston Red Sox, securing a Sox lead that held for the rest of the game. Despite Fried's strong outing, he felt he had more to give, and it might have saved them from the predicament they're in now.

Fried Responds

"I definitely exerted a lot of energy trying to get out of that, but I definitely had enough in the tank for whatever the team needed," Fried said in a postgame interview. "But you know, Boone was confident to be able to give the ball to Weave in that situation."

Fried was asked whether he would have liked to stay in the game longer.

"I mean, I'm going to stay in until I get the ball taken from me," Fried said. "I want to pitch as long as I possibly can, and when the ball gets taken out of my hands, yeah. It is what it is."

Sep 30, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran (16) is out at first with New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried (54) covering during the fifth inning during game one of the Wildcard round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Fans on social media joked that surely Fried will be sufficiently rested for his next start, in March 2026. Others noted that Boone should not have pulled Fried, erring on the side of winning the game instead of keeping the pitch count as low as possible.

Max Fried will be well rested for Opening Day.
— Neil Keefe (@NeilKeefe) October 1, 2025

On the other side of things, Sox starter Garrett Crochet was praised by Yankees superstar Aaron Judge for an unbelievable outing, which he was permitted to take into the eighth inning to secure a win for the Red Sox.

"He's the best pitcher in the game," Judge said. The high-stakes showdown between Judge's offensive prowess and Crochet's pitching power was highly anticipated, and sufficiently suspenseful all the way through.

The Yankees are expected to start Carlos Rodón for the second game, and if they're lucky enough to secure a third, they are expected to start Cam Schlittler.

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