The New York Yankees finally got back in the win column on Wednesday afternoon, surviving a late-game scare in a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.
Leading 4-0 in the bottom of the ninth, All-Star closer Devin Williams wilted to let the Tigers pull within one with two outs. Yankee manager Aaron Boone handed the ball off to Mark Leiter Jr., who induced a pop-up to escape the jam and avoid a fourth consecutive loss.
Former high school teammates Max Fried and Jack Flaherty started against each other for the first time in their careers, and they did not disappoint. The pair of now-World Series champs engaged in an elite pitcher’s duel that combined for 20 strikeouts across 12.1 shutout innings.
For the Yankees (7-5), Fried embodied the ace that the club desperately needed. The lefty hurled seven scoreless innings, surrendering just five hits with zero walks while striking out 11 batters for the fourth time in his career.
“He’s just got so many different ways to beat you out there,” said Yankee manager Aaron Boone after the game.
New York last encountered Flaherty when he was wearing Dodger blue in Game 5 of the 2024 Fall Classic. There, the Bronx Bombers pounced on the right-hander for four runs, sending him back to the dugout before he could complete two innings – though the effort was spoiled a few frames later.
Now back with the club that traded him to Los Angeles before last year’s deadline, Flaherty settled in early by striking out the side in the top of the first inning. Fried answered back by striking out a side of his own in the following frame.
The Tigers didn’t have a runner in scoring position until shortstop Zach McKinstry tripled to left field with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. But that’s as far as he would get, as Fried blew a fastball by Malloy for his eighth strikeout of the afternoon.
Yankee captain Aaron Judge led off the sixth with a walk, and Paul Goldschmidt doubled to place runners on second and third with nobody out. And after 92 pitches, Flaherty handed the ball off to reliever Tyler Holton.
Facing Jazz Chisholm Jr., the lefty hurler fielded a 1-2 comebacker and caught Judge in a rundown between third and home, tagging him for a momentum-crushing second out.
Holton got Anthony Volpe swinging to strand the runners and solidify Flaherty’s pitching line: 5.1 innings, zero runs, three hits, three walks, and nine strikeouts.
The Detroit left-hander was coasting through the seventh until he surrendered a two-out single to Cabrera. Then up came Ben Rice, who parked an inside sinker over the right-center field wall for a 2-0 Yankee lead – a swing that ended a 16-inning scoreless drought.
Fried returned to the bump for the bottom half of the inning, giving up a leadoff double to Dillon Dingler. The lefty then sent the Tigers down in order, striking out Javier Baez and Ryan Kreidler to punctuate a masterful performance on the mound.
“He became a Yankee today,” said YES Network’s Michael Kay on the broadcast.
The Yankees tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth. After reliever John Brebbia loaded the bases with nobody out, Judge crushed a two-run single up the middle that plated JC Escarra and Cabrera.
The extra runs proved necessary when Williams walked pinch-hitter Trey Sweeney to load the bases with two away in the bottom of the ninth. The righty chucked a wild pitch that plated Spencer Torkelson, then surrendered a two-run single to McKinstry that made it a one-run ballgame.
Following an off-day, the Yankees will return to the Bronx and kick off a three-game set against the San Francisco Giants under the Friday night lights.
