Matt Blake Magic Saved Yankees With a Subtle Change

It was one of the few opportunities for Boston to break out in the series, and Fried did what aces do. He put out the fire before it could get out of hand.

According to NJ.com's Randy Miller, the idea to abandon Fried's windup came after getting out of that jam. Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake told him his windup wasn't working and that it was time to do away with it. Striking out the side after getting in trouble was proof enough for the three-time MLB All-Star to go along with his pitching coach's advice.

The result of listening to Blake was yet another masterful performance by Fried. He tossed eight shutout innings in 100 pitches, marking his highest pitch count since facing the Miami Marlins on April 5 (103).

Fried struck out nine, walked just two, and was able to generate an absurd 18 swings-and-misses from Boston batters. It was every bit a masterpiece at Fenway Park that the Yankees needed to seal that series.

Acknowledging Matt Blake amid a strong start

After his third victory of the campaign, reporters asked Fried about pitching from the stretch and doing away with his windup altogether. For him, it's a control issue.

"For whatever reason this year, I've walked a ton of guys in the windup, and I haven't walked anyone in the stretch," said Fried, according to the New York Post's Greg Joyce. "When you look at the numbers like that, and you sit there and walk two guys early on, knowing that the walks have really hurt me, especially with no one on base, I just said, 'You know what? You got to suck up your pride and just say whatever's working, you got to go and do."

Much like last season, Fried is off to another hot start in 2026.

In 41.1 innings pitched, Fried has posted a 2.40 ERA. His peripheral data is as electric as his traditional metrics. His 2.28 Expected ERA, according to Baseball Savant, is in the 92nd percentile in baseball. His .196 xBA is in the 82nd. Fried's 10 Pitching Run Value is in the 99th percentile.

It has also been next to impossible for anybody to get hard contact off of him. Fried has kept batters to a 1.1% barrel rate and a 28.8 hard hit rate. Both pieces of data are in the 91st and 86th percentiles in baseball.

With Blake in his ear, Fried is in a terrific spot to extend his ongoing momentum, giving Yankees fans plenty to be excited about as the season progresses.