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Paul Goldschmidt and Max Fried are teammates now, but they weren't always. For a long time, they were NL rivals, and they've faced off a few times. Goldschmidt has just three hits and four strikeouts in 12 at-bats against the pitcher.
Now that they're teammates, Goldschmidt doesn't have to worry about facing the pitcher again. He can sit back and enjoy the show from his first base position and relate to the struggles opposing hitters are having.
Goldschmidt said of the former Atlanta Braves ace via MLB:
“For me, I always just felt like all of his pitches were so good. You never knew how he was going to pitch you. He’s got two different fastballs, he’s got two different sliders, a curveball and a changeup. So, it’s hard to know how he was going to attack you."
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The former St. Louis Cardinals slugger said he remembered thinking that Fried had six above-average pitches, which is rare. Usually, in Goldschmidt's estimation, a pitcher has two dominant pitches and some others, but all six of Fried's were excellent.
Last weekend, Goldschmidt and Fried combined to lift the New York Yankees to a win. A three-run Goldschmidt home run, a rarity for him this year, was all New York needed after Fried went six innings with one hit allowed.
Aaron Boone has been impressed with Max Fried
Max Fried is 6-0 with a 1.01 ERA to start his Yankees tenure. Fresh off an eight-year deal, he has not disappointed. The Yankees have yet to lose a game he's pitched in, and he's an early contender for the AL Cy Young.
Yankees skipper Aaron Boone was impressed, but he particularly liked what Fried showed last time out against the Rays. He's faced them twice and has yet to allow a run.
Boone said via MLB:
“It was just more of what always impresses me, which is the different ways he can beat you. There were a couple of innings where he was reining in his command a little bit. Some of the innings, he’s ripping off some good breaking balls. The others, he’s adding and subtracting on his heater. He’s just so versatile out there.”
In both, Fried has flirted with no-hitters and recorded overall dominant outings against the divisional rival. Right now, he's +400 to win the Cy Young behind Garrett Crochet and Tarik Skubal.
