Max Fried returned from the injured list looking like he never left, and the Yankees rode his brilliance to a 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, splitting their doubleheader and taking the series. Fried, making his first start since May 13 after a lengthy stint on the shelf, was dominant across five innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out seven on a tidy 57 pitches. He dueled zeroes all evening with Pirates rookie Bubba Chandler, who turned in one of the finest outings of his young career by matching a season high with six and a third innings of two-hit ball.
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the seventh, when Chandler gave way to reliever Brandon Eisert and everything quickly unraveled. Jasson Dominguez greeted Eisert with an RBI single, and Anthony Volpe followed with another run-scoring hit to give New York all the cushion it would need. The loss dropped Eisert to 2-2 on the season, while both starters settled for no-decisions despite efforts that deserved better fates.
Pittsburgh had its chances late but could not capitalize against the Yankees bullpen. The Pirates managed only three hits total in Game 2, and their best opportunity came in the seventh inning when Jared Triolo singled, stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Ali Sanchez. But with a man on third and one out, Ryan O’Hearn and Marcell Ozuna both struck out to extinguish the threat. In the ninth, Nick Gonzales led off with a single and Esmerlyn Valdez worked a walk to bring the tying run to the plate, but Tim Hill needed just three pitches to induce a game-ending groundout from O’Hearn that held up under review.
Pirates manager Don Kelly acknowledged afterward that it was difficult to find silver linings immediately following a loss but pointed to the broader picture of what his club accomplished on this road trip. After splitting two games with Cleveland last week and winning Game 1 earlier Wednesday behind home runs off former Pirate Gerrit Cole, Pittsburgh finished the trek at three wins and three losses against quality American League competition.
For Chandler, who said he felt rusty early coming out of the All-Star break before settling into a groove, there was plenty to build on even if the result stung. And for Fried, returning from injury to throw five effortless innings at this level was exactly what he wanted for himself and his team as they push toward October baseball.
