Yankees.com: The first of many: Fried beats Bucs as Yanks take opener

From Bryan Hoch:

The ink had scarcely dried on Max Fried’s record-setting contract this past December, and the left-hander was being guided through Yankee Stadium, gaining familiarity with the surroundings that will be his home for the next eight seasons. The tour halted as Fried eyed a phrase painted on a wall near the clubhouse: “Prepare, compete, win.”

Those three words are Fried’s new mantra, fueling his workouts throughout a first pinstriped spring that seemed largely uneventful, and setting the tone as he aims to be a rotation stalwart. Preparation and competition are ongoing, and now Fried has his first Yankees victory, firing 5 2/3 strong innings in an 9-4 win over the Pirates on Friday at PNC Park.

“It’s been incredible, especially the early runs,” Fried said. “It takes a lot off me, where I know that I can be a little more aggressive and go after guys. At that point, when they’re swinging the bats well, your job is just to try getting into the dugout as quick as possible.”

Aaron Judge marked his 1,000th career game by launching his sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot off left-hander Tim Mayza.

I came really close to giving Aaron Judge the featured image for his home run, and moreover, the fact that he HIT that home run after seemingly hurting himself on a catch earlier in the game (shades of the Dodgers catch that ruined Judge’s season in 2023), but, alas, I’ve established that if the Yankee starter does well, he gets the featured image, and despite being a bit shaky early on, you certainly can’t complain too much about Fried’s final line, pitching 5 2/3 inning of 1 run ball, and he definitely got sharper as the game went on. The Fried of innings 4-6 is the Fried I thought that the Yankees were getting this season, with pinpoint control, sharp breaks in his pitches, and soft contact when player DO make contact. He even showed off his outstanding move to first by picking off IKF in the fifth inning.

The offense was surprisingly carried mostly by the back of the lineup, with the Martian having a good game, and Waldo having an outstanding game. Trent Grisham continues to excel, as well, as did Ben Rice.

I think a batting order of

Rice
Belli
Judge
Jazz
Goldy
Wells
Volpe
Martian
Waldo

is a pretty impressive order at the moment.

The one real downside of the game was Fernando Cruz showing why, despite his electric stuff, he was available to be acquired for just Jose Trevino, as he gave up a three-run home run in the seventh. Get well soon, Jonathan Loaisiga!

The featured image is Fried chirping with the fans as he leaves the field with a 7-1 lead, and strikeouts of three of the last four batters he faced.